


What Happens At A Con Stays At A Con

by sedamentary



Series: What Happens... [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Both Shiro and Lance are big name cosplayers, Con AU, Cosplay, Demisexual Keith (Voltron), Famous, Fluff, Internalized Homophobia, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Keith is in major denial, Keith writes the webcomic voltron, Lance is a diehard fan, M/M, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Panromantic Keith (Voltron), convention love, cosplay au, cosplay famous, pining lance, pure fluff, webcomic au, what happens in cosplay stays in cosplay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-01-04 05:50:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 65,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12162789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sedamentary/pseuds/sedamentary
Summary: Keith writes a webcomic called Voltron that has a massive following... only he didn't know it was such a huge thing until his foster brother threw him in a cosplay and dragged him out to a con. That's where he meets Lance and well... what happens at a con stays at a con... until it doesn't.





	1. Chapter 1

Keith was well.. He was being put into a really strange position. He’d been bumped from one foster family to the next. It turns out no one wanted a hot headed mopey emo kid so he never stayed at one place very long, at least until the Shirogane’s came along. 

The Shirogane’s were the best foster family he could ask for, they made him feel like one of the family… which was a bit of a problem because Keith had no clue how to be part of a family. Apparently that involved them caring about your grades and encouraging extracurricular activities. Which left him in the awkward position he currently found himself in.

He was currently standing in a ticket line for a local comic con? Or FanExpo? Or something like that? He didn’t really know much about it, but when he told his foster family that his only real hobbies were webcomics and playing video games, they said he still had to get out of the house and meet like minded individuals. 

So here he was, at FanExpo, fulfilling his promise to meet others. Luckily he wasn’t totally alone in this. His foster brother Takashi, who prefered to be called Shiro, came with him. He was actually pretty big at the con scene, one of those cosplayers who made mechas and some of those bigger cosplays that Keith had to admit was really really impressive. Since this was the case they were both decked out in pretty impressive paladin armour from the webcomic he was making called ‘Voltron’. 

He figured it was a nice gesture of Shiro’s, making them these cosplays of his webcomic just to make him feel more comfortable here, but Shiro insisted Voltron had a huge following at the con scene. Keith knew his webcomic had a bit of a following but doubted it was actually enough for people to want to cosplay from it. Boy was he wrong.

Already, even in the lineup he could see people cosplaying the different paladins in their casual clothes. It was both flattering and nerve wracking. They went to the front of the line and got their tickets, heading inside. He paused once inside, staring in awe at the size of the room… it all felt like too much, and there was so many people around.

He moved a bit closer to Shiro and the taller boy smiled down at him and ruffled his hair a bit saying in a calming voice, “Relax Keith. No one’s here to judge you and everyone’s really nice at these sort of conventions. Just focus on having a good time, and if you get too nervous you can always put on your helmet?

Shiro had a good point. He put on his helmet and ya… literally no one could really see who he was under this paladin armour so he felt a lot more confident in himself. “Okay what now Sh…”

He was cut off by a soft voice, “Excuse me? Excuse me can I get your pictures please?” Shiro tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around and saw a girl with a cellphone aimed in their general direction.

“Of course!” Shiro quickly responded and Keith just stood there not knowing what to do. Shiro got into a battle pose with his ‘robotic arm’ so He figured he’d get into a battle pose too with his sword. The moment they were in position a few other people stopped to get their pictures and Keith had never felt so awkward in his life.

It wasn’t long before they were able to move again and one of the girls gushed about how they were basically her headcannons for how the red and black paladins look. He was honestly really flattered that someone cared about his webcomics enough to have headcanons for the characters, that being said the red paladin was literally based off his own aesthetic so it was almost to be expected. 

They continued onwards, checking out the artist alley, dealer's room, and stopping by a few different panels for this or that and constantly being stopped for photos. Shiro had his own schedule and Keith was just planning on tagging along for the entirety of it. That was the plan at least until he got completely lost. 

He’d told Shiro that he was just going to go to the bathroom quick while Shiro said he needed to get to a panel that he was running, so Keith just said he’d meet him there. That was half an hour ago. 

Even with constantly asking the random volunteers for direction he still couldn’t track this panel room down and it all just got him more and more lost. He’d tried texting Shiro but this was a 2 hour long armour building workshop so there’d be no way for him to text back until after everything. So basically he was stuck. Alone. In a room full of crowded people of whom were still stopping him for pictures. Great. Just…. great.

With that thought he got into a battle pose again with his sword out. Then he heard the words, “Blue get in there!” and felt the presence of another human being awfully close to where he was posing. He looked up and saw literally blue incarnate. This is exactly what he’d pictured his character ‘Blue’ looking like. Tall and lanky, tan skin, beautiful(no homo) blue eyes. 

Blue turned towards him and flashed him a smile. A perfect Blue like smile, Keith felt himself blushing a bit and smiled nervously back. Blue raised an eyebrow and someone called out, “I ship it!!”

Blue looked at him and murmured, “Do you mind if I kiss you?”

Keith was taken aback completely. What? WHAT?? A complete stranger. A MALE complete stranger wanted to kiss him?? How do you even respond to that? Why would he even ask that!?!

Blue smirked, “I’m gunna take that as a no.” He swooped Keith into his arms and dipped him, making a big show about kissing him and Keith had no clue how to react besides thinking to himself that whoever this cosplayer is, is an extremely good kisser! But like… in a no homo way? Is no homo still a thing people say? Keith never really followed popular terms and slang...

He was pulled away from his thoughts when the Blue cosplayer which may as well be Blue himself, pulled away from him. He stared up at him dazedly before he found himself planted back on his feet and at least a dozen fangirls were surrounding the two of them. What?

This Blue was as charismatic as he was in his comic, popping out a few awful pickup lines which the girls giggled at and handing out some sort of cards… cosplay cards? Shiro had a few of those! So This Blue must be a pretty serious cosplayer? 

He was still at a complete loss for how there were so many people who read his webcomic. Did his comic maybe even have a fandom going for it? He can’t even remember the last time he checked how many people were trafficking his webpage, he more wrote the comic for himself than anyone else.

He turned to Blue once he was done with the fangirls and decided to deal with one thing at a time, mainly this cosplayer and telling him off for blind sighting him with a kiss. “What the hell was that!?!”

Blue looked at him completely baffled and confused, “What was what?”

This only pissed Keith off more, who the hell did he think he was? “That kiss! You kissed me!!!”

Blue looked taken aback a bit before raising his hands in surrender, “Sorry man I was just caught up in the moment and wanted to give the fangirls what they wanted. Next time we pose for pics I won’t, since it’s clearly too out of your comfort zone to put on a show for your fans.”

Keith huffed and crossed his arms, “It’s not out of my comfort zone… but anyways that’s not the point! Why would fangirls even want that? Blue and Red aren't together! They’re not even slightly interested in each other!”

Lance grins, “Ya, but that doesn’t matter. There’s way too much sexual tension between them, and the development of their relationship so far drives the fangirls and fanboys mad. There are also a bunch of fan theories that point towards them becoming canon!” 

Keith groaned, okay wow, maybe he should look into this cuz apparently his webcomic had an actual proper fandom following. How had he not known this!?! “I have it on good authority that they won’t get together.”

Blue shrugged, “Everyone’s entitled to their own ships. So I take it you’re not okay with shipping pics then? Cuz I was just heading to a photoshoot I booked and was wondering if you wanted to join me?” He grinned easily and well… honestly yes. He wanted to join him because meeting this cosplayer felt like meeting the living embodiment of his character. 

Keith shrugged nonchalantly, “Ya sure, whatever. I guess that’s fine.” He followed along beside Blue, “and I mean, if the characters are really shipped that much I guess I don’t mind. But um… I’m not gay, but it’s fine if it’s just for pictures I guess?” He’d seen enough pictures of Shiro, who was super straight, kissing other guys in cosplays to know that.

Blue grinned widely, “Awesome! I was hoping you’d say that!” He grabbed Keiths hand and he couldn’t stop himself from blushing a bit. He looked away so Blue wouldn’t notice as he led him along.

Keith didn’t understand the reasoning for his actions, “W-what are you doing!?!”

Blue chuckled at Keith's reaction a bit, “Just holding hands. Don’t want you to get lost in the crowd, it’s pretty huge.” He winked and Keith's face flushed an even more brilliant red and he looked away again.

Keith mumbled, “Whatever.” and followed Blue now silently. 

He soon found himself on a balcony outside the convention hall overlooking the city that somehow felt far more advanced from this angle than it actually was. I guess photography is all about the angles and tricking the public eyes. This view would definitely give off the perfect futuristic flare for their Voltron shoot, even if it wasn’t in space…

Blue let him go and waved at one of the many photographers loitering around, talking in a cheerful tone that Keith doubted he himself would ever be able to replicate as he conversed with them. 

He crossed his arms and waited patiently for the other boy before he waved him over and Keith stood there awkwardly, “Ya, Tom here says it’s fine if you join in the shoot, it’s a bit extra but I’ll cover you for another kiss.” he winks and Keith rolls his eyes and shrugs.”

“Whatever. Sure. If it’s actually such a big ship in this fandom i’ll bite.”

Blue grins so widely that he thinks his heart might just stop. Wow. This person really was one of those unrealistically beautiful looking people, all caramel skin and deep blue eyes and perfect smile… thank god his helmet was still on so it was less obvious that he was staring.

“Why don’t you take your helmet off for the first few pics?” dammit. There goes his security blanket. He took his helmet off and set it to the side. “ I um… sure. Okay so… what now?” He looked over at Lance for the first time without the tinted plastic partially obscuring his vision and he all but fell in love with the boy right in front of him. He really had never seen someone so beautiful in his life. 

He came back from his daze when he heard a string of, “Red? Red are you okay? You there? Something wrong? You nervous?”

Keith shook his head slightly, “Um ya. I’m fine…. Blue.” wow he just realized he didn’t know this guy's name. Not that it really mattered since he wouldn’t be talking to him after today.

Blue gave him a wide grin, “Good! Cuz we’re ready to start!” and they get to posing. It’s pretty easy for Keith, he literally based the character Red off himself so it was easy to match the mannerisms, and when it came to the fighting poses Blue knew just what to do. He basically moved Keith's limbs until he was satisfied that Keith was in proper position, then posed alongside Keith. All in all Keith didn’t have a problem until Lance wanted to pose like some fanart he saw.

Keith tentatively agreed. He didn’t know why he agreed but anything is alright in cosplay right? Kissing another guy is okay if it’s cosplay, plus he said he would. So he found himself in Blue’s arms, looking into the other boys too blue eyes as he leaned slightly closer and the photographer was more than likely snapping a million pictures.

When Blue was a millimeter from his lips he murmured, “you sure this is okay?” and Keith didn’t know how to respond, too dazed in the moment to say no. So he made the illogical decision to let the moment carry him further and kissed the other boy.

It was much different than their first kiss in the busy convention hall. It was less showy, more intimate. It was soft, it lasted long enough for him to feel the softness of Blue’s lips, lips that felt so similar to a girls. This similarity must’ve been what drove him into his next action, he refused to allow for any alternative as he properly kissed Blue, moving his lips against the other boys, tilting his head slightly to make it easier for them both.

Blue immediately responded, cupping his face slightly, swiping his tongue slightly against Keith's lips which he gladly opened for him. Blue traced his teeth, letting his tongue glide along them then exploring every crevice of his mouth before entangling itself with Keith's tongue, coaxing it to life.

Keith immediately responded, taking over the dominating position despite being the obviously less experienced kisser here. They would have continued if it wasn’t for the photographer chiming in, “Okay we’re good. That looked really realistic guys, I think you’ll really love these photos!”

Keith pulled away, almost disappointed before that disappointment was replaced with embarrassment. He flushed a deep red. “I um.. Ya okay. Good. I um… since that’s done I should probably get going. My friends panel should be ending soon and I still need to find the panel room.”

Blue looked at him and grinned, “If you need some help, I’ve been going to this con for years, I can help you get there.”

He didn’t know if he wanted to be in Blue’s presence at this point, not after that, but he didn’t have much of a choice. There was no way he could find that panel room on his own. “Ya. That’d be great. Thanks.”

Blue thanked the photographer again and paid him before walking back into the con building, grabbing Keith's hand again and grinning at him, “So you don’t get lost in the crowd”, then he winked and Keith found himself blushing and he had to remind himself that he wasn’t gay. 

He told Blue the panel room name and he expertly led him onwards. They arrived at the room just as people were being let out. He took his hand back from Blue and looked at him awkwardly, “I guess we should say goodbye now?”

Blue looked at him a bit saddened, “Ya I guess? You probably just want to go around with your friend now hm? And I did promise some of my friends I’d meet up with them sometime today…”

Keith Nodded, “uh ya… so I’ll just..” 

Before he could finish his sentance Blue chimed in, “Give me your phone.”

Keith was confused but surrendered his phone to the other boy and when he got it back he noticed a new contact was added to it. Lance. The name suited him.

“Send me a text whenever. We should keep in contact. I’ll also give you the pics when they come in, email them to you or something?”

Keith found himself nodding along, “Um ya… sure sounds good.” he responded awkwardly.

“I’m Lance by the way!”

He gazed at the beautiful boy in front of him, “Keith.” He offered feebly.

“See you around Keith!”

He leaned in and kissed Keith again and before Keith could say he wasn’t gay Lance had disappeared. He held his fingers to his lips and found himself dazing out again. That was a real genuine kiss. That kiss wasn’t for show, it meant something. Though Keith didn’t quite know what it meant, not just yet. But he would. Soon. Yes, he’d text Lance soon and figure it out. Tell him that he wasn’t gay again in case Lance didn’t remember him saying it the first time. Though maybe he should figure out his own conflicting emotions first.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos comments! I honestly don't think I could've written the second chapter without your feedback! I really didn't think people would like this but I'm really glad they do and I'm really excited to keep writing this fic!

Keith felt a hand on his shoulder from behind and jumped just a bit, snapping him out of his daze. He turned his head and there was Shiro with a knowing smirk on his lips.

“Have fun without me?”

Keith blushed beet red and turned around again. He didn’t need to see Shiro looking at him with a stupid grin when he didn’t actually know anything of what had just happened. “No... It was pretty boring.” He tried to keep any form of stuttering out of his voice.

“Who was that?” Shiro’s eyes didn’t appear to be watching Keith. They were following the path Lance took as he left Keith behind.

“Some Blue cosplayer. Said he wanted a shipping pic or something.” He hoped Shiro would stop prying.

“That ‘all?” He said knowingly and, like his internal voice said before, he knew _NOTHING!_

“That’s all Shiro.” He glared at the other boy, crossing his arms as he half yelled each word dripping with venom.

_Shit._

Keith had messed up. “Shiro I’m sorry.” He tried to backpedal a bit.

Shiro brushed him off and gave him an easy smile, “Don’t worry about it, it’s fine. I’m sorry for pushing. You’re not used to being out and about like this. My schedule's pretty empty for the rest of the day so let’s go to the gaming section. You can test out some of the new games that haven’t been released yet there if you like?”

Keith nodded and gave Shiro an apologetic smile, “Ya that sounds good.”

They ended up playing games until the con closed. It was delightful spending this time with Shiro.

When they got home that night, he collapsed on his bed. Now that he was home, he didn’t have any distractions to the thoughts that haunted him from earlier. Tomorrow he’d be going back to the con again and well… he wasn’t sure he was ready to face Lance.

_“But I mean…”_ he thought, _“there has to be at least 50,000 people there so what was the likelihood I’d run into him again?”_ With Keith’s luck… very high.

He groaned and looked over at the phone that was resting on the bedside table, thinking of the number that laid within it. Well… if he had to face Lance again, tomorrow anyways, he may as well clear things up now. He grabbed his phone and sent out a quick text.

(22:36) Just so you know, I’m not gay.

Quick and to the point. He didn’t have much experience to talking to new friends but after today he thought that was a pretty appropriate greeting. His phone buzzed as he got an immediate response.

(22:37) Lance: Way to start a conversation. Not even a Hello?

Keith groaned. This was probably not going to be just a one off text. He was probably going to try and draw this out into a long winded conversation or… something. He’d give him a few response then tell him he was going to bed. That was appropriate - right?

(22:39) Hello.

(22:39) Lance: Ouch. What’s with the cold response babe?

Babe? What? That escalated fast! Lance should be getting it in his brain that he’s not gay! He said it outright!

(22: 41) Babe? I’m serious Lance. I’m not gay.

(22:41) Lance: Don’t worry I knw that, I’m not dumb. Just figured i’d call u something  
that obviously fit u.

(22:42) Lance: Cuz yur a total babe.

(22:43) I don’t think anyone uses that particular word in that particular way anymore  
Lance.

(22:43) Lance: I’m bringing it back in style!

(22:45) Even you can’t rectify that word.

(22:45) Lance: But maybe I can rectify yur heart

(22:46) You can’t. It’s cold. Frozen over. You already pointed that out.

(22:46) Lance: I said u gave a cold response not had a cold heart <3

(22:47) Lance: But if yur heart’s cold I’ll make it my personal duty to thaw it out for u!

(22:48) Lance: Maybe thaw out the rest of yur body while I’m at it. ;)

(22:53) I take it back. I’m not cold. I’m perfectly fine.

(22:53) Lance: u might be ‘fine’ but I can make u better than fine. Waaaayy better!

(22:54) I am very close to blocking your number. Choose your words carefully.

(22:56) Lance: After thinking over my words carefully for 2 whole minutes I have  
decided to change the topic.

(22:56) To?

(22:56) Lance: Voltron!!!

(22:57) What about it?

Honestly, he was a little giddy to talk about his webcomic to someone who actually read it. He really wanted their thoughts on it.

(22:58) Lance: u didn’t even knw about the top ship!

(22:58) Lance: u might read the webcomic but what do u even knw about it!?!

Did Lance really just...?

Keith wondered what Lance would say if he knew he was talking to the creator of the webcomic.

(22:59) I know a lot more than you.

(22:59) Lance: Doubtful.

He chuckled to himself. Really?

(23:00) Okay. If you know so much about Voltron, why don’t you enlighten me?

(23:01) Lance: Let’s start with ships

(23:02) That isn’t canon information!

(23:02) Lance: But it will be!

(23:03) Doubtful.

(23:03) Trust me, it will be!

(23:04) Lance: Give me like… 5 minutes to tell u all of the clues that are leading up to  
Red and Blue getting together!

(23:05) Lance: A true fan reads and rereads the story to pick up clues that give hints to  
future chapters!

Lance proceeded to give him paragraph upon paragraph as to why Blue and Red would be canon and _“I mean… looking back on it maybe there was some grounds to this ship,”_ Keith thought.

When he wrote Voltron, his intention was so that Red could grow closer to his fellow paladins and he wanted Blue to be his best friend… Lance, and apparently the rest of the fandom, was interpreting it completely differently.

While Lance bombarded him with random things about his story that, if he was being honest, he didn’t even pick up on, he opened his laptop and started checking fandom sites.

Lo and behold there were even wiki articles on each of his paladins, shipping charts, forums…

Wow.

He had a huge fandom base going. There were also rumours of Voltron getting a TV series but that was obviously a hoax. Though one of the article said a company was currently trying to get the rights from the creator to bring Voltron to life… maybe he should respond to his emails.

In all honesty, it was all a bit much. He was happy that he was shielded from any of this attention though, but maybe he should cater to the fandom just a bit. Maybe start with actually selling some merch. He googled a lot of those indie online shops like etsy and redbubble and there were tons of designs for his stuff, so if they were making money, why shouldn’t he?

Honestly he didn’t care too much about the money, but he wanted to help support the Shirogane’s. He was almost 18 which means the government would stop paying the Shirogane’s for taking in a foster kid, and they were kind enough to invite him to continue living here. He really wanted to but had felt too guilty to accept… until now. If he could actually sell enough merch to pay his room and board he could stay here guilt free!

But for now he would put that idea aside. He had another busy day at the con tomorrow and he still had a bit of time before his birthday in order to figure out how to set up an online store and stuff. He might have to hire someone to run it for him.

He laid back down in his bed and casually glanced at his phone that was currently filled with walls of text from Lance talking about different ships, or fan theories, or what the characters favourite foods are based off psycho analyses of their personality.

He chuckled and couldn’t help but smile a bit. He was really into this, it was sort of cute. He pushed that thought away and more than likely interrupted Lance mid texting rant.

(00:16) Don’t you have a con tomorrow?

(00:16) Lance: Ya, but I’m just at a hotel party.

(00:17) So… You’re at a party and instead of partying you’re talking to me?

(00:17) Lance: Because it’s important!

(00:18) Lance: u need to be educated on the finer things in life!

(00;18) Lance: Especially if u claim to be part of the fandom!

(00:19) Who said I was part of the fandom?

(00:20) Lance: I did!

(00:20) Lance: I’m dragging u into this fandom whether u like it or not!

(00:20) Lance: u already read the comic and look like the most perfect Red I’ve ever  
Seen!

(00:21) Lance: This is the next step in the world of Voltron!

Keith rolled his eyes and smiles a bit.

(00:22) Ya okay.

(00:22) For now I’m going to sleep.

(00:23) Lance: WAIT!

(00:23) What is it Lance?

(00:24) Make it quick.

(00:25) Lance: Can we meet up tomorrow?

Keith thought for a moment. He already figured it was probably inevitable that they meet up, so what would be the harm?

(00:27) Okay.

(00:27) Lance: When dyuu wanna meet?

(00:28) Text you tomorrow.

(00:28) Lance: Okay!

(00:29) Night.

(00:29) Lance: Night babe <3

Keith rolled his eyes again, not even worth commenting back honestly. He couldn’t count how many times he’d rolled his eyes over this simple text conversation; it was kind of ridiculous. Lance was completely ridiculous.

Regardless, he found himself smiling as he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning he woke up to the smell of bacon. He opened his eyes and lo and behold the bacon that roused him was being held by none other than Takashi Shirogane and was right in front of his face. This was really the only acceptable way to wake someone up at this ungodly hour. It was a weekend and waking up at 7 was unacceptable.

He groaned a bit, the bacon was a nice gesture but he was still going to complain, “nnnggh it’s too early Takashi. Try again in 2 hours.” regardless of what he was saying he was already reaching for a slice of bacon and popped the wonderfully crispy piece into his mouth.

Shiro chuckled a bit and grinned, “Ya, but it’s the second day of the con. This is the day with the cosplay contest I’m entering and registration is at 9. I know we live close to the con but we need to get you up and in cosplay so I can go to registration.

Keith propped himself up and stretched a bit, then grabbed another piece of bacon. “Can’t you go to reg by yourself and I’ll just meet you at the con later?”

Shiro gave him a pointed look, “And how well did that go for you yesterday?”

He… had a point. Keith popped the second piece of bacon into his mouth and finally hoisted himself out of bed, “Okay. I’m up. But I’m not wearing a costume today…”

Shiro smirked, “Didn’t you literally base Reds casual outfit off an outfit you already own? Why not wear that?”

Keith rolled his eyes, “That was from my emo stage.”

“You wore it last week.”

“Exactly.”

Shiro chuckled a bit in amusement, “I’ll wait outside. If you’re going more casual today I’ll need to do your makeup.”

“Makeup? But I’m a guy!” I mean… Shiro always wore makeup and he made it work really well, but Keith was sure he wouldn’t be able to pull it off in quite the same way. “I don’t think I really need any… ” he let his voice trail off.

Shiro brushed his comment off easily, “Every cosplayer needs makeup to complete their look, girl or guy, a bit of makeup goes a long way. I’ll even add a bit of red accents to match the jacket. Trust me. You’ll thank me for this.”

Keith sighed. He definitely wouldn’t, but he wasn’t going to say no to Shiro. He respected him too much. Plus it was just makeup. Not even a big deal! When he was 13, he wore makeup everyday!

He thought back to Lance and whether he had been wearing makeup or not. If Lance had been wearing makeup, he figured it must have been very minimal because his beauty seemed to be completely natural. Then again, it was not natural to be that beautiful so maybe he was wearing makeup after all? His own thought process confused him so, he just shoved all thoughts of Lance to the side.

Again...

He shook his head and came back to attention when he noticed Shiro was looking at him funny, “If makeup is that big of a deal you don’t have to wear it Keith.”

Keith gave him a bit of a tired smile and shrugged it off, “Nah it’s okay, don’t worry about it. Makeup is fine. I told you I’d give the whole ‘con thing’ a try, and this is all part of the experience.” He got up and grabbed the plate of bacon from Shiro, “but first bacon.

Shiro reached out for the plate and Keith held it close, protectively. “Those were for both of us you know?!”

Keith glared at him light heartedly, “Well then you shouldn’t have woken me up at 7 o’clock on a Saturday. This is your payment.”

Shiro pouted a bit and Keith took pity on his brother… and gave him a single piece of bacon. “The rest is mine.”

He sat in the corner and started eating his bacon happily. When it was all gone he turned around and saw Shiro was gone too, probably to get ready. He probably should too.

He set the plate down and had a scalding shower and came out, putting on his clothes that apparently doubled as cosplay and went to Shiro’s room.

Shiro grinned at him upon entering, his makeup on point, and from his hips down the mech suit was looking incredible. “You ready?” He chuckled and walked over to Keith’s outfits and pretended to admire it, “Wow your cosplay is so on point. Straight down to the tare in the jeans. I’m impressed.” He smirked and Keith sighed in exasperation.

“Ya whatever, let’s just get this over with. Why did you bother with makeup anyways? You’re wearing a mask.”

Shiro shrugged, “There’s a rave tonight and I normally take off the mask for it. By the way, you’re gunna have to be my handler for the day. Hope you don’t mind?”

“Your handler? What’s that?”

“You’ll see, it’s someone that most mechs need in order to function.”

Turns out a handler’s the one who deals with tricky things, like the doors that mech cosplayers can’t really manage through their bulky gauntlets. He’s also in charge of the wings. That’s right - wings. He has to attach, detach, then reattach them everytime they enter a doorway. Honestly speaking though, he was decently fit from working out in the Shirogane’s home gym, plus he didn’t really have any plans for the rest of the day, so he couldn’t really complain. They went and registered Shiro for the contest than had about 3 hours to kill. Really that time consisted of getting stopped at different places for 30 minute intervals for pictures from the masses.

If he’d known Shiro’s Mecha Charizard would look so cool he might’ve asked Shiro to help him with a simple pokemon trainer outfit to go with it. Honestly speaking though, he was glad that he only had to watch a bunch of people take Shiro’s picture instead of having a bunch of people taking his as well. He didn’t have a helmet to hide behind today.

Lance didn’t even cross his mind until he pulled his phone out to check the time and had half a dozen messages from Lance that he couldn’t even check because they had 30 minutes to force their way through the crowd and to the registration room halfway across the con.

It was hard work but they managed it somehow, arriving at the doors just in time to be put into position. Normally they didn’t allow anyone extra to be backstage, telling them to just wait in the hall, but since Shiro required a handler they let him in. Now all they did was wait.

Shiro was brought to the side to have his cosplay inspected so Keith let his eyes wander at the different cosplays in the room until it landed on one in particular. A creature from his own webcomic.

They were in a masters class competition so some mechs were to be expected, but what he didn’t expect was a mech of the blue lion. It was beautifully done. It looked real and metallic despite the fact that it was more than likely made up of foam. It had weathered edges, lit up, and well, it might not make noises but whoever was inside certainly did.

He walked towards it and heard some interesting noises being made by the inhabitant as they talked to one of the volunteers.

“It goes like ‘pew pew pew’ only like… with actual laser guns!”

Keith chuckled a bit and so did the volunteer, because clearly this person was ridiculous.

“And they call me the sharpshooter, because just like my pilot I have careful aim and can shoot you straight through the heart with perfect accuracy.”

The girl seemed a bit awkward and Keith decided he’d take pity on her and save her from whoever this guy was. He coughed a bit, “Hey. Nice costume, though I’m pretty sure those sounds aren't even close to how the guns would sound.”

The guy turned around, allowing for the poor volunteer girl to make a full escape. The Blue Lion mech guy turned his sights on him and started rambling, “I’ll have you know…” he paused mid sentence and they met eyes through the tinted glass that his were hiding behind. “Keith?”

Keith’s eyes widened in recognition. He thought he recognized that voice. “Lance??”

“Keith! I messaged you like, a million time!”

“Oh ya. I forgot to check my phone. Sorry I guess?” He shrugged casually. Ya he felt sort of sorry but he’d been busy with Shiro.

“How could you forget such a beautiful face like mine? Even for a moment?” The melodrama was presented extremely thick in the air. He decided it’s best to change the subject matter before he actually started feeling guilty.

“So that was you who made that awful pickup line?” So clearly since Lance was hitting on this girl, he wasn’t hitting on him the other day, it was just a cosplay thing. He crossed his arms, “at least you didn’t use one on me.”

Lance looked him in the eye the best he could in his current cosplay. “Are you from Tennessee, cuz..”

Keith was having none of this and interrupted him, “Well ya actually, was born there but moved away when I was really young.”

Lance dropped that line and Keith smirked in a private victory before Lance’s voice carried forth once more. He wanted to pre determinedly groan at how bad the next line was likely to be.

“If I rearranged the alphabet I’d put U and I together.”

_“Here we go, another one of the most cliche pickup lines in the book.”_

He was already getting his groan ready but before he could Lance continued, “But I don’t have to do that since K and L are already together.”

“Okay so… that was bad but it wasn’t awful.”

Lance took off his mask supposedly for the sheer reason so that he could look straight into Keith’s eyes, “I see you're dressed as Red again, makes me wish I was the red lion so you could ride me.” He winked at him and Keith found himself unable to use words.

“Did you really just…?”

Lance was looking extremely smug and pleased with himself, “yup.”

“That was…” He was at a loss for words but Lance clearly had a few of his own.

“Clever? Brilliant? Incredible?!”

Keith looked at him blank face, “So bad.” Then he couldn’t hold it in anymore and broke out into a full blown out laugh, “Dude like… that was really terrible.”

Lance was grinning widely, “Ya maybe, but it made you smile so it did it’s job.”

Keith smiled a bit up at the other boy, “So that was the whole point in this?” and wow those eyes looked bluer than ever.

Lance leaned in towards him and he didn’t even notice it, so captivated by his eyes. “Ya. You don’t smile enough, but when you do it’s really beautiful.”

Keith felt his breath hitch. Those words. This moment. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t breath. But he smiled. Just a bit.

Lance leaned in and met his lips once more. They were still so foreign but his body craved for them to become familiar. That being said he was done giving into the whims of the moment. He pushed Lance away. “I don’t get you! You’re first flirting with a girl, now you're kissing me? And we’re not even in shippable cosplays!”

Lance chuckled a bit, “I don’t know man, I’m sure there’s someone out there somewhere that ships Red and the blue lion.”

Keiths groans and half glares at Lance, “Lance…”

Lance holds up his hands in surrender, “This is on you. I honestly thought it was pretty obvious that I’m bi.”

That would explain a lot, “You’re right. I should have noticed. You hit on everything alive.”

“Every hot thing alive.” Clearly Lance felt this was worth correcting him on.

Keith really did try and make his next words ooze sarcasm, “I’m honoured.”

Lance put his helmet back on again and added, “But obviously there’s more to you besides the fact that you’re seriously attractive. You’re really cool so if you’re not into that.”

“I’m not” He interrupted.

“Then I won’t make another move on you okay? I seriously just want you as a friend? From one Voltron paladin to the next.”

Keith couldn’t stay mad at Lance when he was that dorky, and honestly he didn’t know if he had been mad at Lance at all. He was more mad at himself. “You’re a dork.”

“But at least I’m a cute dork.”

Keith smirked, “Maybe.”

Lance paused for a moment, probably plotting world domination under that mask of his, “So… this place is for master level cosplayers, and no offence but...”

Keith interrupted, “I’m not one.”

Lance confirmed, “Your not one.”

Keith shrugged, “But I’m a handler.”

“For who?”

Keith shrugged, “ I don’t know if you know him, but his name is Shiro.”

Keith could see Lance’s eyes go wide even through the mask, “ _THE_ Shiro!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm thinking I'll at least write half of the next chapter from Lance's perspective? I do kind of want to give a bit more insight into Lance's mind within this au? 
> 
> Also, I've decided that i'll be updating this fic every Friday night, so expect regular update! (Probably/normally around this time as well so... 6:00 EST)
> 
> Also, here's a link to Shiro's cosplay. My friend gave me permission to use his cosplay for reference: https://www.instagram.com/p/BRhuvN2FvF4/?taken-by=dunkmasterx


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Luna from Luna_Vulpes for being such an amazing beta reader! She beta read my last chapter as well and I love her so much! If you haven't looked at Luna_Vulpes Klance fanfictions you're missing out and I definitely recommend it!!!
> 
> And thank you so much to everyone who left kudos and comments! Every time someone left another comment I'd immediately continue writing the next chapter! You guys are so encouraging and I don't know If I'd be able to continue this without you!!! <3

Lance was talking to the handler for _THE_ Shiro. One of the most incredible cosplayers in the country _AND_ the person Lance always aspired to be like. Rumours had it that he’d be appearing at this con but Lance didn’t think he actually would, and now that it was confirmed that he was in fact here, Lance was in awe. What this meant is that he’d be competing in the same contest as his idol.

He looked at Keith once more before searching around the room, trying to spot his idol amongst the group of incredible cosplayers. They were all so impressive. Lance had never once been nervous at a cosplay competition. He was pretty well known and he was good. He knew he was good because he always took home an award of some sort, but now he was nervous. He was practically shaking where he stood. Competing on the same stage as his cosplay hero... he could potentially get recognized by his hero. Maybe get an autograph? This was honestly a dream come true.

He turned back to Keith after not being able to spot his idol but the cute Red cosplayer was already gone. He hoped he hadn’t messed up too badly with Keith. He knew cosplay wasn’t consent but he was sure Keith was giving him a few signals. You don’t stare at someone in that way unless you’re asking them to kiss you.

That was basic knowledge.

He sighed as one of the cosplay specialists brought him to the side to inspect his cosplay. He’d text Keith later again; hopefully he hadn’t screwed up too much and Keith would text back. Then they could hang out and, if he really was Shiro’s handler, that would mean he’d get to hang out with Shiro as well!!

The only thing that would be cooler than meeting Shiro would be meeting the ever secretive author of Voltron!

The specialists finished inspecting his cosplay, writing stuff on their clipboard probably in regards to all the nitty gritty details regarding his cosplay. He flashed them a smile that they obviously couldn’t see with his mask in the way, but the smile just came naturally to him.

He walked towards the stage where the volunteer directed him, ready to make his way onto the stage. For the past couple Master competition he’d entered, he’d been awarded ‘Best in Show’ and ‘Best Craftsmanship’ which had been huge for his online presence, but this was a much bigger con, and Shiro would be competing against him.

He heard the opening music start and the judges introducing themselves as well as the two hosts doing some playful banter. He took a deep breath. It was time to show his stuff… or it would be in about 30 minutes give or take.

Before he knew it, it was his turn. He hadn’t heard Shiro's stage name being called yet so at least he didn’t have to follow him. He pitied whoever had to follow THE Shiro, but he also pitied whoever had to follow himself. He was a pretty badass blue lion after all!

He walked up on stage. At this con it was simple. Walk on stage, strike a few poses, walk off stage, but even if it was simple he planned to make his presence known.

He walked up on stage and struck his first pose. This was Pidge’s cue to hijack the speakers and play what the fans had created to be the fanon Voltron theme song, along with a lion's roar which he posed for and used the moment to light up his costume.

He smirked, good ol’ Pidge. He totally owed them for this. Big time.

The hosts seemed startled but quickly recovered and made some comments about that being quite the entrance. Lance chuckled a bit, struck another lion-like pose, then walked off stage. Nailed it.

He wondered if Keith had seen him and been impressed… and if Shiro saw him. What would Shiro think???

As he walked back over to the place the rest of the cosplayers were situated he heard a single name behind him. Shiro. Shiro was up on stage right behind him. He turned around and there in his full glory was a custom design of a full charizard mecha. The whole thing lit up and looked like nicely weathered orange metal. Everything from the helmet, to the wings, to the light up scythe was flawlessly down and beautifully crafted. Overall, he was in complete awe.

He was snapped out of his daze when an annoyed sounding volunteer stood directly in front of him, telling him that he needed to continue backstage. So he turned around and went out back.

He could easily tell the difference in their skill level. He was fairly new to building mechs; he’d done pretty good but his skill level was nowhere near Shiro’s. It was all of those little details that really made a huge difference. He was left completely awestruck.

He waited backstage, hoping to meet Shiro, but when faced with the opportunity he chickened out. No way could he go up to someone obviously way more talented in this craft than him.

Luckily he didn’t have to because Shiro approached him. They couldn’t see each others face through their masks but he could hear the slight smile in Shiro’s voice when he said, “You did a great job on that cosplay. I’m sure the creator of the webcomic would love it.”

Lance was ecstatic by that, “You think? Really? I want to keep making costumes from their series! I love it more than anything! My dream is to meet them someday, maybe while wearing my Blue armour at a con! Though they’ve never made a public appearance before so it might be a bit hard...”

Shiro was quick to add in, “I know the author personally. Maybe I’ll see about getting him to appear at a con?”

Lance perked up at that. Holy shit. His cosplayer idol knows his main idol! Of course incredible people know incredible people, it only makes sense! “Ya! That’d be great! Maybe you could get me his autograph too! And yours!”

Keith walked over to them and crossed his arms, “Get whose autograph?”

“The author of Voltron’s autograph!”

Keith glares at Shiro before adding, “I thought nobody knew who the author was.”

“I do.” Shiro responded easily, and Lance was wondering why he’d even question THE Shiro’s words.

Keith groaned, “Yeah whatever. Let’s just get going.”

Lance grinned widely and added on, “Maybe I’ll see you later Keith. Then we could all hang out!”

Shiro decided to respond when Keith didn’t, “Sounds good. Lance was it? Nice to meet you.”

Lance watched the two walk away and almost squealed in delight. So by the looks of it he’d get to hang out with a super cute ‘not gay’ Red cosplayer, AND his cosplay idol later today, or maybe tomorrow in the last day of the con. He had to change into an amazing evening cosplay. Initially it was just going to be a trashy rave outfit, but now he had someone he was trying to impress, namely Keith. Keith said he was straight but it was kind of hard to believe with the way that he kissed him back. He totally planned to convert him - assist him to find the truth, at least - and he knew just how to do that.

Luckily his house was decently close to the con so he could go back home and find something more appropriate for the con nightlife. Knowing Keith, a rave might not exactly be his cup of tea, but he had something better in mind for the two of them anyways.

He waited around for the awards to be presented. He got ‘honourable mention’ from the judges, which was still a huge deal for him at a con this size. _THE_ Shiro got the “Best in Show” - Of course. He honestly deserved it. He was hoping to see the duo one last time before heading back to his house to change but he couldn’t find either of them, which was a huge surprise because _THE_ Shiro should have stood out quite a bit.

He sighed and made the trek back to Hunk’s car. He’d probably be waiting there for him with comfy clothes. Mechs were exhausting to wear, super heavy and cumbersome, but every time he got stopped for a picture it made it all worth it!

#

Keith felt a slight sense of dread at the silence Shiro was temporarily presenting to him. It wasn’t their normal comfortable silence, it was more of a ‘so how do you know this man’ silence. Or even more worrisome, ‘was this the man you were kissing yesterday’ silence.

Shiro finally spoke up and Keith was dreading every word, “So. Who was that Keith? New friend?”

Keith groaned. _Here we go._ “No one. That was no one.”

Shiro chuckled a bit as they made their way through the crowd and added between photos, “Same no one who kissed you yesterday.”

He wanted to say no but he knew his slight blush gave it away, but could Shiro really see his blush behind the mask? “It might be. Why does it matter?”

Shiro was practically radiating smugness, “It doesn’t. I’m just happy that my little bro is making some _friends._ ”

The way he emphasized the words friends made what his implications there quite clear. “You know I’m not gay right?”

It was a quick, easy, condescending response, “I know.”

But clearly he didn’t know. “I’m not you know.”

“I know. Don’t worry so much Keith, I believe you. But if you were you know I’d accept you for it right? Mom and Dad wouldn’t kick you out for liking guys either so you really don’t have to worry.”

_Ugh_ , that wasn’t the problem. He figured the only way to get this sorted out was to meet up with Lance tonight and get him to tell Shiro the truth. Set him straight - to say the least. It wasn’t like that, they kissed for pictures, that was all.

Though… part of his mind wanted to do that again. It felt really nice, Lance’s lips were soft and he clearly knew what he was doing.

His mind snapped out of the daze. They walked around the con and didn’t really do much else for the rest of the day. Today was really just about Shiro going around, meeting some fans, getting an unholy amount of pictures taken. Keith was just sort of what he’d label as a background character in his webcomic, while Shiro would be a main character.

The moment he met Shiro he was drawn to him. He reminded him of Red’s only family member, Black, their leader. He was everything he’d wanted in a brother. Kind, smart, hard working, caring. Shiro was amazing.

He was more than happy to bask in Shiro’s charismatic light for the day. He was sure that there were people out there that would literally pay money to be Shiro’s handler.

Being his handler and standing there all day left too much time for his mind to wander though. He would think of this or that, daydreaming about what the paladins of Voltron would do at a con. Imagining Yellow and Green tinkering with the mechanical components of cosplay, Shiro would be Black no doubt. Black would bask in the praise of being incredible.

Red would be like him but… more connected. He’d be following along with one of the others, they’d drag him into a scheme or something, and when he says ‘they’ he means Blue. Blue would drag him away to stop being a spoil sport and experience the con a bit more. Live it up a bit.

Blue would bring a bit more colour to his world. Day by day Blue helps Red become more in tune with who he was. He could see why the fanbase shipped them. He could imagine them leaning in towards each other, sharing secret kisses under the guise of cosplay. Like him and Lance. That would be all it is. Fleeting and full of excuses.

He’d never specifically talked about sexual orientation but… he couldn’t think of Blue at least not being bi anymore, because he couldn’t associate Blue with not being Lance anymore.

He figured making Blue officially bi would make the fanbase really happy so he’d see about briefly bringing it up in the next chapter or two. He’d never even knew he had a fanbase before this weekend but now that he knew he wanted to be a good author about it and sort of make them happy.

Just knowing there was a fandom behind his comic made him feel a lot less alone in this world. He wanted to show everyone that their support and adoration for his webcomic meant a lot to him.

Eventually Shiro’s voice repeating his name over and over again broke him out of his daydream. “Um… yeah? What is it Shiro?”

Shiro chuckles a bit, “I was saying that it’s getting late. Let’s go back home and eat while I decide whether i’m going to wear my mech for the rave tonight or not.”

Keith looked at Shiro skeptically, “Isn’t that going to be really uncomfortable, dancing in all that heavy armour.”

He just keeps walking and responds easily, “Maybe. But the lights look better at night.”  
Keith just didn’t get it. What was the point? Exchanging comfort for aesthetics. He didn’t understand why someone would put themselves through that. It was like heels for girls, it never made sense to him.

They arrive at their house, Shiro changed. Keith didn’t really need to. They began eating, The Shirogane’s asking a lot of questions and Shiro answering them happily, until the room fell silent and it was his turn to answer.

“So how did you like the con dear?” Mrs. Shirogane asked, she was really kind and clearly genuinely curious about this.

Mr. Shirogane's added in, “Ya. How was it? Did you make any new friends?”

He didn’t want to disappoint them. He knew they wanted him to get out there and make new friends. “Um… ya. I met this one guy. Lance. He’s pretty cool.”

He was hoping that would satisfy him but apparently they had follow up questions, “So how’d you meet? What was he like?”

He couldn’t exactly tell them that _‘he was posing for a picture and this guy swooped in and decided it was a perfectly normal thing to kiss another guy.’_ “We were wearing cosplays from the same series yesterday, so we just bonded over that I guess? He also helped me find Takashi when I got lost.”

They smiled and Mrs. Shirogane added, “So what’s he like?”

Keith sighed, _‘Infuriating, impulsive, a know-it-all who doesn’t actually know-it-all. Has a complete obsession with Voltron and the bluest eyes he’s ever seen on anyone in real life. Completely naturally beautifully blue. And when he smiled it was kind of amazing. The kind of amazing that lit up an entire room.’_ “He was nice”

The Shirogane’s seemed satisfied and Mrs.Shirogane added, “Well I’m glad you made a new friend.” Before they all went back to talking amongst each other. Keith made an effort to comment every so often but not enough that he’d have to hold up too much of the conversation. It was a fine line. He simply didn’t want to be a burden to the Shirogane’s, not when he finally found somewhere he belonged.

As soon as dinner was done the Shirogane’s insisted for the boys to go and have fun and leave the cleanup to them, so Keith found himself in Shiro’s room once more where he was once again applying makeup to his face.

Shiro got done up as well and dressed back into his charizard mech suit this time without his mask, and they went back towards the con. Apparently there was an indoor and an outdoor rave and they would be going to the outdoor rave since it was more spacious for the mech suit.

They arrived at the rave and once again people were surrounding Shiro, and Shiro was having a great time. Literally lighting the place up.

He found himself wondering what he was doing here. Shiro didn’t really need a handler if he was just going to be out here all night, and Keith was far too awkward to join in dancing. If he was back home he could just be writing his webcomic.

He took out his phone to play a game or something when he saw the mass amount of messages pop up on his lock screen. _Oh ya._ He promised Lance that he’d hang out today, and besides that brief meeting in the pre-contest room, he hadn’t really fulfilled that promise.

His mind drifted back to that encounter earlier and he wasn’t quite sure if he could face him again. Not without more self doubts being seeded in his mind. Though apparently fate had different plans when he felt a gun being pressed into his back, “Hands up where I can see them.”

The moment he heard Lance’s voice and turned around in annoyance and Lance simply whined, “Come on. What if it had been a real gun?”

Keith deadpanned and looked at Lance’s finger guns that he held with all the authority and care that one might actually hold a real gun. It was completely ridiculous looking and well.. It was also really cute., “Well then I’d be dead.”

Lance gasped, “Keith! You shouldn’t have such little disregard for your own life!”

Keith sighed in exasperation. _‘Really Lance? He didn’t need to be so overdramatic.’_ “We’re at a convention where half the people have some sort of fake weapon or another. I figured I’d take my chances.”

Lance rolled his eyes, “Still, you could have at least _tried_ to play along.”

Keith crossed his arms, “And encourage you? I’d rather not. What if it hadn’t even been me then? What then?”

Lance grins, “I’d know that mullet anywhere. Seriously. It’s like… spot on. How did you style that wig to look just like Reds hair? It’s the most accurate wig I’ve ever seen!”

Keith rolls his eyes, “That’s because it’s my real hair.”

Lance’s eyes lit up, “You styled your hair to look like Red’s? That’s commitment! Though everyone knows that mullets should have been left in the 80’s so hopefully you don’t plan to keep your hair like that for too long.”

Keith glared, “What’s wrong with my hair!! It’s hardly a mullet and well… even if it was, it works for me!”

Lance holds his hands up in surrender, “Dude. Chill. From one super fan to the next, it suits you somehow. You look a lot like Red and it suits him so it suits you.” He smirks, “Doesn’t mean I‘m not gonna tease you for it.”

Keith sighs again, “Ya ya okay. So how’d you find me?”

Lance pointed towards the charizard behind him, “It’s a bit hard to miss, and you said you were his handler so I figured you’d be with him. I’m surprised you’re not over there dancing and enjoying the party though. You’re barely on the outskirts of the rave.”

Keiths sighed in exasperation, “I’m not really a big fan of raves. Something about sweaty half naked ravers grinding up against anything that moves doesn’t hold a huge appeal to me.”

Lance smirked, “So you’re saying that rave dances don’t appeal to you but what about country dances?”

Keith perks up a bit and looks at Lance suspiciously, “What are you getting at here?”

Lance smirked, “Well, you said you were born in Tennessee right? So I figured maybe country would be more your thing?”

He wasn’t wrong. Keith genuinely enjoyed country music. His parents used to take him out dancing at hoedowns all the time before they died.

He looked at Lance suspiciously, “Yes, but... doubt this con’s hosting a country dance Lance.”

Lance grinned devilishly, “Maybe this con isn’t, but there’s a country bar not too far from here, and I hear they even do line dancing!”

Keith couldn’t believe this boy. “So what I’m hearing is that you’re willing to leave your precious con in order to take me to a country bar?”

Lance smirked, “Yup!”

Keith really couldn’t believe it. Why? Wasn’t these cons big deals to people like Lance?, “Why!?!”

Lance shrugged a bit, “Because these raves are all the same, but I’ve never been to a real country bar with a real country boy before.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “Fine. Say on the off chance, that I’m willing to go with you. Then what? How would we even get in?”

Lance pulls out two fake ID’s “With these.”

Keith looks at them, then up at Lance, “You know neither of them look anything like me right? For one, I’m asian, and what are those? Mexican?”

Lance looks at him seriously, “Cuban.”

Keith sighs, “Exactly my point.”

Lance pouts a bit, “They probably won’t check them?”

Keith rolls his eyes, “Yeah they will.” He sighs before giving in and adding, “but don’t worry too much cuz I have my own.” He takes out his wallet, double checks to make sure Shiro’s not watching him, though Shiro seems to be in a completely different world, and he pulls out his fake ID to show to Lance.

Lance gives him a smile that lights up all his features, “So you’ll come then?”

Keith shrugs, “Better than hanging around here.” He gestured towards all the ravers.

Lance pumped his fits in triumph, “You won’t regret it!”

Keith smiled a bit, “I already do.”

Lance held his hand over his heart and gave a dramatic gasp, “You wound me,” but his smile soon returned after the dramatics and the next thing he knew Lance was plopping something on his head, and judging by the fact that Lance had just put a cowboy hat on his own head, he could only assume they now had matching hats.

Lance grinned widely, “Texan Blue and Red! Great au cosplay! I think we look amazing!”

Keith just now noticed that yeah, of course Lance was wearing Blue’s casual outfit that went perfectly with his own. The fact that Lance was dressed so perfectly as Blue was probably why he was so comfortable around the other boy. That also must’ve been the reason Keith didn’t pull his hand away when lance grabbed it and started leading him away from the con. At least that’s what Keith told himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm really excited to write the next one!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all your Kudos and comments! They mean the world to me and keep me motivated to write!

Keith ended up holding Lance’s hand all the way to the bar. He was hyper aware of the touch and wondered if Lance did this sort of thing with everyone? He figured that was a likely occurrence; this boy seemed to be very much a ‘hands on’ type of person. Keith didn’t know why, but the knowledge of that made his heart sink.

Some part of him wanted this to be special.

At the bar they showed their IDs and easily slipped in. The place was classic and reminded him of his childhood. It was all wooden tables with a bar at one end of the room, a mechanical bull at the other, and a dance floor and stage taking up a good chunk of the middle of the place.

It was still fairly early in the evening, only 8:30, so it wasn’t very full. He figured the majority wouldn’t be showing up until around 10:00 so they may as well enjoy the calm atmosphere while they could.

“Have you eaten?” Lance was quick to ask.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” Isn’t it common practice to eat food? And it was already pretty late in the day so of course he ate dinner. Was Lance an idiot?

Lance shrugged, “Just wondering, it’s not uncommon to skip meals at cons. Was going to offer to buy you dinner.”

Keith looked at him skeptically, “Uh… thanks. If you’re hungry feel free to eat. You don’t need to not eat because of me.”

Lance shrugged, “I already ate. I live nearby so I thought I may as well eat after I changed.”

Keith stared at Lance in surprise. So Lance lived near here too? He didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.

Lance was quick to add, “Well if I can’t buy you a meal, maybe I can buy you a drink.” He smiled charmingly and Keith found himself easily following Lance’s train of thoughts.

“Uh… ya sure. That’s fine.” He followed Lance, who was heading to the bar, not that he had much of a choice since they were still holding hands.

At the bar, he let go of his hand and Keith once again felt a minor sense of disappointment and he couldn’t figure out why.

Lance ordered two tequila shots and passed one to Keith along with salt and a lemon. “Ever taken one of these before?”

Keith looked at him with mock confidence, trying not to make his voice shake when he responded with, “Of course.” Because most people his age probably had these drinks at parties and stuff. He didn’t want Lance to think less of him.

When did he start caring what Lance thought of him?

Lance looked at him skeptically before giving an easy laugh, “Okay. Whatever you say. But just so you know, the proper way to take a tequila shot is to pour some salt on your hand, lick it, take the shot, then follow it up with a lemon. You can take it straight but I don’t think it tastes as nice.”

Keith stared at Lance, trying to see if Lance was serious because that seemed like a ridiculous way to take a shot, but he all signs pointed to him being genuine and Keith relented to his fate. He took the salt and poured a bit on his hand and Lance did the same.

Keith ended up really liking the shot. Sure he choked on it a bit at first because he wasn’t used to taking something back all at once, but the brief burn of tequila followed by the sour of the lemon was really nice. By his third shot, he was downing them like a pro.

Lance grinned and paid for the shots and Keith took another look around the room. There still wasn’t that many people, but the people who were around were mostly lingering by the dance floor.

Keith started unconsciously drifting towards the dance floor as well. The classic country song ‘Wagon Wheel’ started playing and he smiled to himself, remembering the line dance his parents taught him.

Lance followed, “Where're you going?”

Keith took Lance’s hand without much thought and led him onto the dance floor. “Just follow my lead,” and he started expertly directing Lance in how to do the dance.

It was one of the easier dances and Lance stumbled at first, but he seemed to be pretty solid on his feat so he picked it up in no time. “Step, hitch, kick. Step, hitch, kick. Jazz square. New wall! Salsa to the left, salsa to the right. Forwards back forwards, step, hitch, kick.” He kept repeating the steps, and soon enough they gathered a bit of a crowd that were all following Keith's directions. If he didn’t have some liquid courage in his veins right now he’d probably go off and alone in a corner, away from all this attention. As it was, he was having a lot of fun!

They moved from wall to wall and when it came to Lance being in front of him he couldn’t stop staring. The way Lance moved into the slight salsa of the line dance made him weak. No guy should be able to move his hips like that!

Luckily the movements of the dance were so routine he could do it while drunk and in a Lance induced daze. He was going to make it a known fact that ladies man Blue can move his hips like nobodies business. Because… _wow_.

They switched walls and Keith started repeating the steps again for people to follow along, feeling his face heat up a bit more in the process.

Lance grinned at him afterwards, “Who knew you could dance!”

Keith smirked, recovered from staring at Lance, deciding that yeah, maybe it was time to tease Lance in return, “Who knew you couldn’t?”

Lance gasped dramatically and pressed a hand to his heart, “I’ll have you know that I’m a great dancer.” Lance took Keith’s hand and pulled him into the middle of the dance floor, past the small crowd that was already starting to disperse. “I’ll show you!”

Lance pulled him close and he couldn’t help but blush a deep red. “What are you doing?”

Lance started moving Keith, moving his hips, guiding his movements into an easy salsa and Keith couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous this latino dance must look in a country bar.

Keith enjoyed every moment of it.

Keith followed along the basic steps back and forth becoming an easy rhythm that allowed his mind to wander. The haze provided by the alcohol brought only pictures of Lance. Him laughing, pouting, smirking, the tone of his voice, the shape of his body, the blue of his eyes, the curve of his lips that he felt his eyes linger upon in that very moment.

He lingered for a bit too long before he felt Lance lean in towards him. The rhythm broke, their feet stopped moving. His eyes flickered back up towards Lance’s eyes. Those eyes that were brimming with emotions. He felt himself leaning in as well. Lance’s eyes flickered towards his lips. He licked his lips in anticipation. He was ready for this. He closed his eyes. Ready. Until the moment broke when their cowboy hats collided.

Keith backed away a bit and stared at Lance in shock. He looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to them. He cleared his throat and looked down at the hands that were still clasped together as if waiting for a dance. “Um well… Why don’t I lead you in a proper country dance. It’s a two step so follow my lead.”

Lance seemed to recover a lot easier than him and grinned widely, “Sure! Sounds good! Show me what you can do country boy!”

Keith was reminded again that Lance probably did this all the time. That kissing strangers must be normal for him. He readjusted their dancing form. “Gladly.” He’d show Lance that maybe Lance kissed just anyone, but he wasn’t just anyone.

Clearly the alcohol had went straight to his head.

He swung Lance around that dance floor like it was nobodies business. If someone’s good at dancing the two step they’re able to make any partner they choose look like an angel on the dance floor. Luckily, Lance wasn’t just anyone either. He clearly knew how to dance. He picked up this style of dancing easily and it flowed far more elegantly than he’d expected.

Song after song they danced, nowhere near as intimate as the other dance, but their faces became flushed and their smiles grew with every spin, dip, and shuffle.

Keith dipped Lance one last time, the dance floor becoming a bit more crowded and it made him wonder how long they’d been dancing as he led Lance off the dance floor, grinning widely at the other boy.

Lance smiled back at him and his heart just felt so full right now. They went to the bar and he ordered another couple shots, the ones from earlier wareing off a bit and he wasn’t sure he could handle all of this sober.

Keith paid for the shots this time and felt a bit better after the second one hit his system, he looked over at Lance still grinning. He had to yell over the music at this point, “THANKS FOR BRINGING ME HERE!”

Lance grinned widely, “THANKS FOR AGREEING TO COME!”

They were pushed together closer by the bar, the area getting more crowded. Keith’s heartbeat sped up from the proximity. Lance took his hand, leading him along.. At this point Keith would follow Lance anywhere.

Lance led him a little ways away and tried to talk to him again but at this point he really couldn’t hear a single word he said. He yelled out to say as much but was sure it was lost in the music.

Lance tugged on his hand again, leading him towards the bathroom and Keith sighed in relief as soon as he saw they were alone in there. He found he was still grinning as he looked at Lance. “You’re not a bad dancer.”

Lance grinned alongside him and moved in a bit closer. “Neither are you country boy.”

Keith looked up at the other boy, he didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the music but his heart was pounding inside his chest and he felt himself being drawn in once again towards the other boy. “Thanks.” He murmured.

Lance moved in closer as well, smiling such a naturally beautiful smile. It was blinding. “No problem.”

Keith’s inhibitions were dulled. He couldn’t figure out why he’d pushed Lance away on the dance floor anymore. Maybe it was because there was too many people around, but now there really wasn’t any reason to stop, the only thing left to do was close the already small gap between them.

Keith didn’t need to because Lance did it for him.

Lance brought a hand up to cradle his face in his hands. He tilted their head at an angle where the hats wouldn’t interfere this time and closed the gap.

Lance’s lips were as soft as he remembered. Lance wasted no time to run his tongue against Keiths lips and Keith’s response was instantaneous, opening his mouth to allow Lance to once again explore his mouth.

He ran his tongue along Keith’s teeth then moved his tongue to tangle with his. Keith pushed back, tongue tangling with Lance’s, before he began to suck on it instead. Moving his hands up to wrap around Lance’s neck and hold him there.

Lance moaned slightly and pulled away just enough to orient himself and push Keith into a bathroom stall, locking the door behind him. Keith was on him again in a second murmuring, “Don’t tell Shiro. He’d never let me live this down.” Not that Lance really knew Shiro, but his mind wasn’t working properly right now and he wanted things to stay between them.

Keith pulled the other boy in for another kiss, this time fully in control as he kissed those soft lips hard enough to bruise. He wasn’t as gentle as Lance. He was fire. Passionate and eager and Lance was more than willing to match his pace - challenge his pace. So he did.

The soft kiss turned into a fierce competition. A clash of teeth, tongue, and lips that was everything but graceful. Keith sucked Lances lower lip into his mouth and bit down, eliciting a slight moan from Lance. He moved his hands from around Lance’s neck to the base of Lance’s shirt, pushing under the dense fabric to feel the soft skin that heated up under his touch.

Lance feeded his fingers into Keith’s hair, tugging slightly, the aggression fueling Keith forwards and eliciting a light growl from his throat as he changed course, moving away from his mouth and blazing a trail of light nips and kisses along his jawline before taking his earlobe into his mouth and sucking a bit.

Lance let out another moan and Keith couldn’t help but moan loudly alongside him. Keith smirked in victory as he felt Lances grasp on his hair tighten, only pulling away when the sound of his ringtone lit up the bathroom. Tearing him away from the moment.

_Shit._

Keith pulled away from Lance as far as he could in this bathroom stall. If Lance wasn’t in the way he’d be running away from this whole situation. He… honestly couldn’t believe he just did that.

Keith looked at Lance and couldn’t quite make out what he was saying. His whole head was spinning so he did the only thing he could do in this situation. He turned around and threw up in the toilet.

He felt a hand rubbing his back in soothing circles. A hand that was both comforting and simultaneously inducing enough panic that he found himself throwing up again.

“I’ll get you some water. Wait here.” Lance said before leaving the stall.

Lance didn’t have to add that last part, there was no way he was going to move from this toilet bowl. He felt awful and so confused. He groaned a bit. He’d figure this all out tomorrow when his head stabilized.

Lance returned with the water, “Here Keith” He hands the water to Keith and Keith rinses his mouth out a bit. “I’m sorry…”

Keith looks over at Lance and even in his dizzy state he knew he didn’t want to Lance to feel guilty, “Don’t worry about it Lance. I had fun.” His face was flushed and he gave Lance a dazed smile, ignoring the foul taste in his mouth.

Lance blushed a bit and smiled, “Think you can make it back to your hotel room?”

Keith shrugged a bit, he honestly didn’t know.

Lance helped him up, “I’ll get you a cab. Which hotel are you staying in.”

Keith spoke up through his haze. “I actually live nearby…”

Lance nodded, “Okay. I’ll take you home.” He grins, “I guess we can hang out even after the con finishes though if you want? Since we both live nearby.”

Keith gives him a dead look.

 

Lance chuckles nervously, “Maybe talk about that later? For now, what’s your address?”

Keith gave him his address and waved down a cab. He ended up riding the cab with him then walking Keith to his door, which Keith thought was completely unnecessary, “Isn’t this a bit out of your way?”

Lance smiles kindly, “Not too much, and anyways, gotta walk my date to the door. What sort of gentleman would I be if I didn’t?”

Keith chuckles a bit and smiled, feeling a bit less sick now that they’re outside breathing in the night air. He looks at Lance and adds, “I’m not gay Lance.” It was almost a reflex at this point.

Lance grins, “I know! But we’re in cosplay so it’s fine.”

Keith nodded, he didn’t know if that’s actually how it worked but he’d accept it for now. “Fine. If that’s the case.” He leaned up and kissed Lance once more, blushing slightly and turning on his heels to head inside, not wanting to stay around long enough to see Lance’s reaction.

He went up to his room and collapsed in his bed, thankful that it was almost midnight and his foster parents were sleeping. It didn’t take him long to follow suit. His dreams filling up with Lance as his personal Blue paladin.

The next day he woke up with a massive headache. He groaned to himself when he saw Shiro standing there with his arms crossed, looking… disappointed. “Keith. Where were you? I even had to take off half my mech suit so I could call you, and you didn’t pick up! I was worried!”

Keith groaned a bit, “Can you... Keep it down?”

Shiro looked at him suspiciously, still clearly disappointed, “Are you hungover?”

Keith couldn’t meet Shiro’s eyes anymore, “Maybe.”

Shiro let out a loud sigh and Keith felt horrible, “Did you at least have fun?”

Keith was a bit caught off guard by that question. He thought back to the night before. Remembering his time with lance. The drinking, dancing, holding his hand, feeling his lips. He blushed deep red remembering how things progressed but he tried to keep his voice steady as to not give anything away. “Yeah. I think I did.”

Shiro smiled as Keith sat up, he ruffled his hair, “That’s good then. I’m glad you had fun, but next time tell me where you’re going okay? Where did you go anyways?”

Keith looked away, and walked towards the closet… maybe he’d wear his Red clothes again today. He was still wearing them but when he took a sniff he realized they stank of alcohol. Nevermind, he’d definitely need to change… and have a nice long shower… and brush his teeth. He could still taste the vomit from the other night. “Um… nowhere.”

Shiro smirked, “Nowhere? And who’d you go with?”

Keith blushed and kept examining his wardrobe, as if deciding on an outfit for the day was the hardest thing in the world and deserved his full concentration. “No one.”

He could hear the smugness in Shiro’s voice, “Does this no one happen to go by the name of Lance?”

Keith groaned, “Hey Shiro. Don’t you have to get ready for the con?”

He still couldn’t look at Shiro as he left the room, “You do too Keith. Try to be ready in 45 minutes and we’ll head out.”

Keith sighed in relief, glad to be alone as he tried to wrap his head around last night and came to the conclusion that it meant nothing. They were just having fun, they were drunk, and they were in cosplay. So it was fine.

He went to check his phone and saw a new message from Lance. He scrolled past all the old messages that he’d ignored yesterday, and looked at one from this morning.

(07:33) Lance: You awake?

(08:07) Yeah.

(08:09) Lance: Awesome!

(08:09) Lance: Wanna hang out?

(08:10) I just woke up.

(08:11) Lance: Wanna hang out in like… 30 mins?

Keith found himself smiling a bit. He’d say no but they’d probably end up hanging out regardless, so why bother?

(08:12) Give me 45.

(08:13) Lance: Kay! But not a second longer!

 

(08:13) Give me APPROXIMATELY 45 minutes.

(08:14) Lance: Kay. Meet at the main entrance?

(08:15) Sure.

(08:15) See ya soon babe <3

Keith blushed a bit but figured there was no point in correcting Lance. He set his phone down and went to go get ready. His head was still pounding but he could ignore it. He was sort of looking forwards to today, because if Lance was involved he was sure to have a good time.

Though he still felt conflicted about last night because, no matter how many times he told himself that it meant nothing…. It didn’t feel like it meant nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!! I'd love to hear what you think of this chapter or my fic in general! And if you have any suggestions for future chapters let me know! Anything from funny one liners from Lance, to whole plot ideas! I can't promise I'll include your suggestions, but I will consider them!


	5. Chapter 5

Keith arrived at the con with Shiro except this time he wasn’t wearing a cosplay, just some casual clothing. Shiro teased that Keith was once again dressed in a very emo-esq way, but Keith couldn’t even jump to his own defense because his mind was distracted by thoughts of Lance.

Shiro was wearing some sort of samurai outfit, something along that line. He said it was a character named Koujaku from the an anime DMMD and he tried to shove a Noiz cosplay on Keith but he flat out refused. Voltron characters were one thing, characters from an anime he knew nothing about was another.

At the con he insisted he had somewhere to be and Shiro insisted on going with him, so there he was, waiting for Lance at the front entrance. Not all too sure what he expected to get out of today, but expecting a whole lot less now that Shiro was with him. He couldn’t really figure things out in regards to Lance with Shiro around.

He felt arms being wrapped around him from behind and a head resting on his shoulder, “Hey babe.” He ignored his instincts and pulled away from Lance and turned around to see Lance in another Blue outfit… of some sort.

“Uh… hey.. Blue. That’s not even an outfit that Blue wears but… it is supposed to be Blue right?”

Lance placed his hands on his hips, his exposed hips, because he was wearing a black crop top with the blue Voltron symbol on it and black yoga pants that hugged him in a way that was simply sinful. His face went a bright red as he checked out Lance’s body bringing his eyes back up to his face just to see Lance staring at him with a cocky smirk.

Lance gave him what he assumed was supposed to be a charming smile, “Blue? Like the colour of the atmosphere, or the colour that corrupts your heart?”

Keith rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, “That wasn’t even one of Blue’s better pickup lines. I think you’re losing your touch Lance.” he chuckled a bit, “So it is Blue then?”

“Yeah, it’s a dance au version! I really liked the fanart so I bought the outfit forever ago, and after last night I thought it was appropriate.” Then added for good measure, “and just so you know, my pickup lines are as incredible as your eyes.” He winked and Keith was so screwed, but he wasn’t about to admit that his second hand pickup lines had any effect on him so he just decided to change the subject.

“Uh… Yeah. au?” Keith didn’t even know what this term meant but he was just trying to figure out a situation where Blue could wear this in his comic.

Shiro chuckled behind him and rested a hand on his shoulder, “AU is short for alternate universe.”

Lance seemed to freeze up, coming accross way less cocky and way more awestruck, “Holy Shit! You’re _THE_ Shiro.”

Shiro smiled good naturedly at him, “Yes. That is my name. And you’re Lance.”

Lance simply nodded before sputtering out, “H-how do you know that?”

Shiro chuckled a bit, “We met yesterday.”

“But you meet lot’s of fans everyday!” He was speaking with rapid excitement and Keith didn’t know whether to feel jealous or not.

“True. But my brother’s been talking about you a lot so it makes it easier to remember.” Shiro looked at Keith pointedly and he felt his face go red again.

Keith added quickly, “I didn’t talk about you that much!”

Shiro smirked at Keith then addressed Lance, “Oh. He did. At least for Keith.”

Keith felt himself groan in exasperation. Clearly Shiro planned to thoroughly embarrass him in front of Lance. _‘Great… just great. Best brother’_ His internal voice cranked up the sarcasm to a thousand percent.

Lance looked at Keith and wrapped his arm around him once more, “So you’ve talked about me, hm? I know I’m pretty incredible so it’s only to be expected.”

He wanted to die from embarrassment. “No you’re not! You’re annoying and impulsive! I talked about you because I had to vent to someone about how aggravating you were!” He yelled at Lance as an instinctive reaction to the teasing, but thankfully it didn’t push Lance away. Just the opposite actually.

Lance leaned in closer, arm still wrapped around his shoulders and whispered just loud enough for Keith to hear, “I’ve talked about you as well Keith.”

He turned his head and, boy, that was a mistake. He looked into Lance’s incredible blue eyes that were now so close to his own. “W-why the hell would you even do that!?!”

Lance smiled softly at him, “Because you’re worth talking about.” He pulled away completely leaving Keith completely red faced.

Shiro laughed, and ruffled Keith’s hair. “You’ve left him speechless. I might have to keep you around.”

Lance all but giggled, his glee prominent on his face as he turned to the still red-faced silent Keith, “You hear that? _THE_ Shiro says he has to keep me around! Maybe I could be a proper groupie! That’d be so cool!”

Someone dressed in a dance au version of Green made a loud coughing noise from behind them, clearly trying to get their attention. Lance turned around sheepishly. “Speaking of groupie’s, here’s mine.”

The Green was looking thoroughly unimpressed with Lance, “The name’s Pidge, and I am of no way any sort of groupie of this asshole. Big name cosplayer or not, if anyone’s a groupie of anyone here, it’s Lance that’s _MY_ groupie.”

Lance shook his head and now wrapped an arm around the short Green cosplayer, “Pidge. Who’s the big name cosplayer here? You or me?”

Pidge growled at him, “You. Lance. Who’s the one who hacked the speaker system at a major con just so you could show off?”

Lance sighed in defeat, “You? But I mean—“ He was going to continue but Pidge cut him off.

“And who helped you pass math?” They smirked and crossed their arms completely smug with themselves.

Lance practically groaned in acceptance, “You…”

“And when you failed that history exam who broke into the servers and—“ they started to goad Lance a bit.

Lance cut them off this time, “YOU! I get it. We get it. No need to bring grades into this. You’re a tech wiz and I worship the ground you walk on.”

They smirked, “Damn right you do! Now get off me!” They all but shoved Lance’s arm away and he stumbled a bit, seeming to deflate with every movement.

Keith chuckled a bit at the interaction but got one primary thing out of this. Pidge was good with computers. So maybe this was the person he was looking for to help him start up an online store of some sorts. He narrowed in on his goal, “Hey Pidge was it? You’re good with computers right?”

They looked at him like he was an idiot, “Weren’t you just listening to the conversation i just had?”

Honestly, he liked this person already, sass and all they reminded him of his character Green, “Yeah. I know. Okay so since you’re good with computers, would you also be good at running a website? Maybe an online store or something?”

Pidge smirked, “Now you’re talking! Let’s talk details, what do you have in mind? You better be willing to pay a lot. My skills demand it.”

Keith backed away a bit, “Um… let’s talk details… after the con? And ya, I’ll definitely pay you fairly. Probably give you a cut of the profits?”

Pidge took out the bag they had with them and sifted through it till they found some business cards and handed one to Keith. “We’ll be in touch.”

Keith took the business card and shoved it in his pocket. That took care of one problem.

Lance’s ego recovered enough for him to get curious, “What’s this website you need made? A fan site of yours truly?”

Keith played with his hair a bit nervously, “Um… actually no… It’s just a thing for a friend. Don’t worry about it. They’ve just been looking for some help recently and I thought Pidge could help.”

The Yellow paladin chimes in, “I’m Hunk by the way. Just in case anyone was interested” He’d been standing there awkwardly throughout their entire interactions and Keith honestly felt sorry for the guy.

Lance grinned widely, now fully recovered, and leaned against Hunk, “This here’s my main groupie Hunk. AKA the best, best friend a guy could ask for.”

Hunk supported his weight easily, “Aw. Thanks Lance. you’re the best too buddy.” He grinned at him and Keith tried to smile back, but with how awkward he felt it probably came out as more of a grimace.

“So…” Keith looked for something to say but came up empty. Thankfully Shiro was here to save the day from Keith’s awkwardness.

“So there’s this really cool voice actors panel for FairyTail? It’s in an hour so hopefully if we get in line now we could still get seats?” He gave them an easy smile and he had everyone’s attention immediately.

“Yeah! That’d be amazing!!!” Lance’s eyes lit up.

Pidge mocked Lance a bit, “Yeah. Being in line with _THE_ Shiro for an hour is the true attraction. Isn’t it Lance?”

Keith shrugged, “Sure. That sounds okay…”

Hunk nodded his agreement and gave a light hearted smile, “I’m happy with anything.”

Shiro nodded, “Okay. Let’s head out then.”

Shiro led the way to the line up which was already big. Keith had thought when he said they only _might_ get a spot if they were an hour early, he wasn’t kidding. There was still a chance that even if they waited an hour, they wouldn’t get in.

Lance and Pidge had what could only be classified as ‘sass off’s’ with each other all the way there. Pidge was obviously winning but when Hunk said Lance was, Keith tore himself away from being a casual observer and became an active participant.

Keith crossed his arms, “Lance. Anyone with half a brain could see that you’re losing this battle.”

Lance crosses his arms, “Nope! Hunk says I’m winning and he’s one of the smartest guys I know!”

Keith shook his he’d, “Hunk’s biased. I’m not. Pidge clearly has the upper hand here.”

Lance gasped again dramatically. Was everything he did dramatic? If recent events were anything to go off of then yes - Yes they were. “How dare you! I’m winning on my own merits! How could you betray me like this?”

Keith shrugged, “Honesty is never a betrayal, so I guess it’s tied now. Two against two.”

Pidge smirked, hands on their hips grinning widely, “Hey Lance. I think I like your new boyfriend. Let’s me even out the playing field a bit.”

Keith found himself blushing a bit and smiling despite himself. Keith ignored the boyfriend part, more focused on the whole ‘being liked’ thing. As weird as it sounded, Keith wasn’t used to being liked, and as much as he’d wanted to spend the day figuring out things with Lance, he also liked meeting these new people. When his foster parents told him to try and make new friends here, he didn’t actually think he would.

Shiro chimed in, “I’ve got to agree with Keith. Pidge might have you beat Lance.”

Lance crossed his arm indigently, “That’s not possible! That little gremlin must have hacked your brain to make you agree with her.”

Shiro chuckled a bit finding them rather amusing and Pidge stared at Lance like he was an idiot, “Lance. That’s not really possible. Though if it was I’d hack your brain first and try to bring up your intelligence to match the rest of ours.” Lance’s face heated up from embarrassment and the lack of ability to find a good immediate comeback.

Keith smirked, “Ouch. Roasted. You might have to teach me how to make his face red like that? Could come in handy.”

Pidge smirked at him, “ Oh I think you know how to make his face red. Don’t you pretty boy?”

It was Keith’s turn to flush, but not quite from embarrassment, more from the renewed recognition of Lance being so close and his feelings bubbling right back up to the surface. “um…. Not really.” He brushed off the topic, but now Lance was looking at him in a sort of half amused half… something else way. He couldn’t quite place the second half of that look.

Lance walked over to him, “Nah. Pidge might be right about that,”

Keith’s heart was pounding and he blushed an even deeper shade. Pidge burst into laughter, “Get a room you two! If Lance’s saying I’m right he must be really smitten by you. Just make sure to invite me to the wedding.”

Betrayal.

Any growing fondness Keith had been feeling toward Pidge in that moment was replaced by betrayal. His face erupted into an even brighter shade of red and he felt Lance’s arm around him once more… _wow was Lance a touchy person._ Just as he started to deny it, Lance cut them off, “Sure thing Pidge! You can even be the ring bearer! Since I’m sure you can pass for a six year old.”

Keith thought he’d finally try to lessen his embarrassment by not letting them get to him. He needed to fight back or at least fight alongside Lance! He wrapped his arm around the other boy’s waist. “Nah babe.” He cringed at his own use of ‘babe’, “I don’t think we could trust them with the rings. At most we could make them the flower girl?”

Lance nodded in agreement, “I agree. and I think a lovely puffy green princess dress type thing would suit you really well.”

Keith grinned a bit, “What do you think about adding a tiara to the ensemble? We want their outfit to be perfect. It is our wedding day after all.”

Pidge stared at them both and groaned, “You two are perfect for each other.”

Lance smiled at Keith in a way that made Keith’s heart flutter, “I’d like to think so.”

Keith pulled away, blushing once again, “I’m not gay.”

Hunk smiled a bit, clearly unconvinced, “Sure buddy. Whatever you say.”

Keith groaned. No matter how much he protested it would probably be a losing battle, so he wasn’t going to push it anymore, it only made him look worse. And now Shiro was giving him a weird look as well so his fate was basically sealed.

Why would it matter to him anyways? It’s not like he had anything against being gay, he just wasn’t. He liked girls! Maybe he’d agree to go out with that one girl in his math class, just to prove it to everyone!

In the time it took to sort out his thoughts, the others had went back to talking amongst themselves and he just remained silent, side-eyeing Lance in his sinful Blue outfit.

Okay so… he was going to write Blue as bi now right? That was definitive. But he didn’t know what it was like to be bi so he should probably just explore the possibility a bit? See what it was like? For the sake of his writing.

This was a con anyways and it was already established that anything that happens in cosplay stays in cosplay. It’s like what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. It doesn’t count.. _right_... So maybe he could just give into this whole situation. See what it was like to date Blue, and apply this new knowledge to his comic.

He looked over at Lance again, wondering if he’d be okay with that. Just trying to date this one day. The biggest problem right now was that he wasn’t in cosplay so he didn’t know how this was going to work.

“Earth to Keith!” he looked down to see Pidge trying to get his attention.

Keith looked at them curiously, “Um… yes?”

Pidge sighed, “Stop staring at him and do something about it.” They crossed their arms and looked at him determinedly.

Keith raised his hands in surrender, then made sure no one else was listening before he replied, “I can’t. I’m not cosplaying anyone.” Because honestly… he wasn’t gay and anything he did outside of cosplay would be super gay… _right?_ That’s how this thing worked?

Pidge smirked, and took his hand, “Follow me! We have 30 minutes until the panel starts and I have a spare cosplay to shove you into!”

Keith looked at them curiously but followed obediently. They led him to a family bathroom and practically forced him to strip off his shirt so he could switch it out. He was already wearing black skinny jeans and they said that would be enough as long as he was wearing the Red crop top that matched the rest of the group.

He put on the spare Red Voltron crop top that Pidge had for some strange reason. With someone like Pidge he figured he simply wouldn’t question it. He looked at them nervously, knowing that he had to come out and feeling really nervous about it, “You sure this is okay?”

Pidge seemed to examine him from head to foot, “Objectively, you look hot. Nicely toned and beautiful skin but… something’s missing.”

They examined him for a moment longer before removing a rainbow pride bracelet and putting it around his wrist, then taking off their own black cap that said ‘paladin on it, and putting it on Keith’s head. They stared at it for a moment before readjusting the hat to be turned slightly to the side. “I figure if anyone’s going to wear a retro styled b-boy hat for a dance AU it’d be Red.” They readjusted Keith’s bangs then grinned. “Now you look great! Lance is going to love it!”

Keith looked at them nervously, “Who says I care what Lance thinks?”

Pidge just laughed a bit and grinned widely, “Oh. You care. How about this Keith? You can’t hide you’re feelings from me so there’s no point in trying. You might be able to lie to yourself, but you sure as hell can’t lie to me. So you care what Lance thinks. I’m telling you now. You care a lot and you look good so you have nothing to worry about lover boy.”

Keith stared at them shocked. He didn’t know how to respond so he figured maybe just questioning that last statement would be enough to dissuade them? “...You sure?”

Pidge just gave him a look, smiling very slightly at him as they opened the bathroom door, “Yeah. He’s seriously gonna love it.”

He walked towards the lineup again, not really liking the feeling of the air brushing against his midriff or the slight stares he was getting. Once again he began to get people asking for his picture, this time with Pidge. He was just grateful he wasn’t alone.

A few fangirls giggled and told him how great he looked and that was reassured because that meant Lance would probably like this… _hopefully._

He didn’t even need to hide it anymore. He was dressed as Red. Lance was dressed as Blue. Same au and the two characters were shipped to no end. It was time to figure out what it’d be like to be bisexual… purely for the sake of a character study of course.

He began walking back to his place in line. He made eye contact with Lance halfway, but that eye contact only lasted a second before he watched Lance’s eyes roam the rest of his body. Keith shivered instinctively as he watched Lance’s eyes linger along different parts of his body. He walked closer towards the other boy and his gaze only seemed to grow more hungry and intense.

The others looked at the two of them, supposedly following Lance’s gaze after the boy stopped talking. Keith blushed a deep red but continued forwards. He tried to play it off as cool.

But he couldn’t be cool if he wanted to.

He crossed his arms, now standing in front of Lance and raised an inquisitive eyebrow, “Like what you see?”

Lance seemed taken back and blushed a bit, “So I bought the crop top paladin shirts in a pack of 5… I didn’t think you’d actually wear it.”

Keith chuckled a bit and decided he was going to take the lead on things this time. He leans in and repeated his previous line, “Like what you see?” The added for the hell of it, “Pretty boy?”

Lance was at a loss for words clearly. He opened his mouth to say something, then shut it and nodded.

Keith smirked. He’d never known he could have that effect on someone. He was enjoying the attention immensely. Far more than he ever thought would.

Shiro raised his eyebrow at him and sure, he felt self conscious, but he’d explain it to Shiro later. It was all for a character study. That’s what he kept telling himself. and would be what he’d tell Shiro but… honestly, Keith wasn’t stupid. He knew in all actuality that this was mostly for the sake of seeing what it would actually be like to date a guy. Actually date Lance. Even for just a day.

Keith wrapped his arm around Lance and pulled him close murmuring, “You said people shipped Blue and Red a lot right? Well I think I’m beginning to ship them too.” And he was. If Blue could be understood to be Lance and Red could be understood to be Keith. He actually shipped them quite hard.

Lance seemed to recover a bit and gave him a dazzling grin, “Ya. They do.” He murmured in a low voice, “I ship us too.”

Keith didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to lead Lance on but… one day. He just wanted a single day to pretend all of this was real and he’d apologize to Lance later. So instead of rejecting him with a loud trail of, ‘I’m not gay’ he simply smiled and kissed Lance’s cheek, leaning into the warmth of the others touch.

The group eventually made their way into the panel. The others enjoying it thoroughly and Keith just being thoroughly lost the entire time. He only really played video games and never really watched much anime. Afterwards when they came out, everyone started talking again about the parts of the panel they loved and Keith was just content to listen and stay by Lance’s side.

In each picture strangers asked them to pose for Keith would either be kissing Lance, leaning into Lance, or at the very least he’d be holding Lance’s hand.

They walked as a group, but Keith always walked with Lance. At one point Lance started swinging their hands and they got into a bit of a competition to see who could swing their hands harder, until Shiro interceded of course.

Overall he really enjoyed his time with the other boy, and everyone for that matter, but he was conscious of the time and there was only 2 hours till the end of the con and Keith still hadn’t gotten any time alone with Lance…. for the sake of character study of course.

He submitted to his fate. He wouldn’t get anymore alone to with Lance which was… _fine?_ He pretended it was fine but in actuality he wanted an excuse to kiss those soft lips just one more time.

Pidge looked at Keith then turned back to the other’s speaking up, “Hey guys! I wanted to go check out the dealers room one last time, but there’s also a print I need in the artist alleyway! And everyone knows you don’t buy things until the last con day but we’re cutting it close. Why don’t the three of us go through the dealers room, and Lance knows what print I want in the artist alleyway, so he can get it for me? Maybe take Keith along for company? We can meet up in the main hall in two hours? What d’you say?” They grinned at the others then gave Keith a wink, as if they could read his mind.

Keith played it off coolly, “I don’t mind. Whatever you guys want?”

Lance grinned and tugged on Keith’s hand that he was already holding, “Sounds great guys, see you in two hours.” And they were off before even Shiro could protest.

Apparently Lance was as eager to get away from the others as he was.

Lance gave him a big smile, “So um… to answer the question from earlier. Yeah.”

Keith looked at him confused, “What?”

Lance groaned then stuttered and looked embarrassed, “Yeah. I like what I see.”

Keith simply blushed and smiled as they moved forwards, then added, “Uh… thanks. Me too.”

It was Lance’s turn to question him this time. Taking a break from leading him forward to stop and look at him, “What?”

Keith took a deep breath and smiled shyly, looking in his eyes, “Me too. I like what I see as well.”

Lance paused momentarily, watching him, making sure that what he said was in fact true before breaking into a wide grin. He leaned in slightly, slowly, giving Keith the chance to pull away, which he didn’t. Lance closed the gap between them, kissing him gently. Keith kissed him back and a brief camera flash lit up their peripheral vision but they both ignored it.

Keith considered briefly that this all might be cruel, might be leading Lance on, but Keith might not care because this all felt too good to be true so it couldn’t actually be true. _Could it?_

They pulled away too soon for Keith’s liking. A few girls asking for them to pose for different photos before they continued into the artists alleyway to pick up that print.

Keith thought he’d make the most of this opportunity. Learn more about Blue… erm… Lance.

Favourite movie? The Notebook. Favourite animal? Sharks. Favourite colour? Your eyes.

That last answer made him blush and made Lance smile and Keith couldn’t help but think it was sort of perfect, but made him wonder what his real favourite colour was, outside of the realm of cheesy pickup lines. Because it should be blue. Blue suited him. Especially his eyes. They were so beautifully blue.

Lance led him outside. Keith following in a daze. He grinned over at Keith and told him to wait there and Keith did. Still too caught up in his fantasy, in the daydream of Lance to fully compute exactly what was happening in the moment.

Next thing he knew he felt a cold and soft pressure being shoved against his mouth. He pulled away and licked his lips, glaring at the person who’d shoved the mess in his face. “What was that for!?” He bit out.

Lance simply grinned at him, “What? You don’t like ice cream? I thought we could share?” He took a lick of the creamy cold object and Keith simply followed the movements of Lance’s tongue instead.

Keith all but stuttered, “I do! I just didn’t expect it!” He leaned in and took a long lick as if to prove a point and he shivered a bit at the cold.

Lance gave a hearty laugh, “So even after I said, ‘want some ice cream?’ and you said, ‘Yeah that’d be great!’ you didn’t expect any ice cream? Really Keith?”

Lance was a bit condescending and snide but… most of it was just being light hearted teasing. Keith must’ve just dazed out while Lance had said that, but he wasn’t about to say no to free ice cream. “Sure. I must’ve dazed out a bit.”

Lance chuckled a bit, “Am I really boring you that much?”

Keith was quick to shake his head no, “Actually I was just thinking about you…”

Lance blushed a bit and grinned, “What about me? My charming good looks or incredible personality?”

Keith’s eyes drifted towards his lips then back to Lance’s eyes, “Actually I was thinking of something else, but now I’m fantasizing about another taste of that ice cream.”

There was still a soft hue of red on Lance’s cheeks as he held up the ice cream to Keith’s lips again.

Keith looked at him weirdly, “Are you going to hold the cone for my the whole time?”

Lance shrugged, “That was the plan. We’re sharing after all.”

Keith shrugged and took another lick, “mmmkay.”

They shared the rest of the sweet ice cream and Keith was more than satisfied with half a cone. He briefly thought that this must be what it’s like from the girls perspective when someone takes them on a date, and he couldn't help but smile a bit before leaning in and kissing Lance briefly. It was just a soft chaste kiss, but it somehow meant more than any of their previous kisses. It was certainly sweeter and more than he ever expected to receive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My chapters are progressively getting longer.... but it was so much fun to write so i just couldn't stop? Idk? I hope you liked this chapter! Please tell me your opinions as well as what you'd like this see for future chapters??


	6. Chapter 6

Keith ended up being a good fifteen minutes late to meeting up with the others. No one seemed to care too much, but they all gave him knowing looks. He’d definitely needed to have a chat with Shiro later before he jumped to too many conclusions.

He smiled nervously at the others and squeezed Lance’s hand a bit, suddenly shy from all the attention. Lance simply smiled and gave him a comforting squeeze back.

Lance grinned, “So what’d you guys get from the dealers room?”

Hunk held up two bags full of things, “They had a Japanese candy corner”

Pidge smirked, “So he bought up their entire stock.”

Hunk chuckled a bit sheepishly, “Not their entire stock. And I bought it for our next big sleepover.”

Lance grinned widely, “Which you’re welcome to come too Keith!”

Hunk chuckled nervously, “I don’t think he’d want to travel so far just for a sleepover Lance.”

Lance gasped, “Hunk! It’s never just a sleepover! Our sleepovers are legendary! Besides, Keith’s a local.”

Keith blushed and played with the ends of his hair a bit, while Hunk smiled and patted Lance’s back, “I’m happy for you. Finally found someone who actually lives nearby.”

Lance gave Hunk a pointed look and stage whispered in a failed attempt for Keith not to hear them, “Nothing’s official yet… but thanks.”

Pidge grins, “Local hm? Looks like you’re gonna be stuck with us from now on Keef. Think you can handle this lot?” They gesture to Hunk with his massive assortment of candy, and the loud and ever animated Lance, both half wrestling over their conversation regarding him.

Keith shrugs and smirks a bit, “Them I can handle, you… well that’s to be determined.” Honestly, the others he already had figured out. Pidge seemed like the type of person you could hang around your entire life and you still might not have them figured out.

Pidge raised their eyebrow in surprise and smirked, “Smart boy. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” They tried to wrap their arm around Keith’s shoulder to emphasize the point, but the height difference made it slightly awkward. Still, it was manageable and the point was solidly made.

He still didn’t know what to do about Lance, but as he looked over the two boys and Pidge he couldn’t help but smile. He could get used to this. His gaze wandered over to Shiro and he was just giving him what could only be described as a proud fatherly look, which made Keith smile a bit more.

He was so grateful the Shirogane’s and Shiro made him come here. He didn’t actually think he’d make con friends this way.

The buzz of his phone signalled a text and he shrugged Pidge off his shoulder to check it. It was from the Shirogane’s asking when they’d be home.

He wanted to stay with everyone but that reminded him he had to update his webcomic sometime tonight, and he still had to finish up with some of the colours and shading. He sent out a simple text telling them he’d be home soon.

Keith sighed, “Hey guys. That was the parents. I need to head out now.”

Lance groaned, “Come on Keith, we were all gonna go out for food! Tell them you’ll be late! If they say no, call them and I’ll talk to them myself! I’m great with parents!”

Keith looked off to the side nervously, “It’s not all that. I have some work to do. I need to get it done by tonight.”

Lance huffed and crossed his arms, “Fine. But you’re not getting out of going to dinner with me.”

Keith looked at him pointedly, “But I just told you I had stuff to get done tonight.”

Lance smirked, “Tonight. Exactly. But what about tomorrow?”

Keith sighs seeing where this was going, “I have other plans.”

Lance smirked, “Okay. and the day after?”

Keith opened his mouth to start rejecting the notion again because Lance clearly intended this as a dinner date and Lance was not going to do anything like that outside of cosplay. However Pidge cut him off before he could speak, “He’s going to keep asking until you give in. You may as well just choose a date.”

Pidge had a good point. Lance seemed to be a very determined person. “Fine. I’m free Wednesday night, I’m a bit busy in the day since I need to get stuff for the new school term.

Lance grinned widely, “I do too! Let’s go together!”

Keith looked at him seriously, just to drill in the fact, “You know this isn’t a date right? I’m still not gay.”

Lance smirked, “I know. You’re simply Lance-sexual.”

Keith sighed, there was no getting through to him. Why was he even agreeing to this?

Pidge seemed to sense his distress and chimed in, “I need my stuff for school too, so I think I’ll tag along as well.”

Granted, he didn’t really think Pidge’s main intention was to save his ass, but more to mess with Lance’s. He couldn’t help but smile a bit.

Hunk chimed in, “I also have a few things to pick up as well, if you don’t mind me coming along.”

Shiro grinned, “How about I drive everyone to the mall then, make it easier?”

Lance gasped, “ _THE_ Shiro is gonna drive us!? I’m honoured! Yes!”

Lance really got excited over Shiro, which would be his saving grace. Lance was too distracted by Shiro to possibly think about what could have been a date. He couldn’t help but feel minorly disappointed.

Keith chimed in, “Now that we’ve got that figured out, I’m going to head out.”

Shiro smiled kindly, “I will to. I guess we’ll see you guys on Wednesday.”

Keith started walking away but Lance grabbed his hand and pulled him back a bit. Keith was confused for a moment until he felt those all too soft lips against his own once more. He closed his eyes in that moment, kissing back naturally without another thought.

Pidge wolf whistled and Keith jumped away from him, “U-um..” words failed him.

Lance gave him a smile, “Thought one more for the road y’know?”

Keith nodded, wide eyed and blushing. It hadn’t been their first kiss by far but this was in front of his brother and wasn’t for any pictures, and it all of a suddenly felt like too much. “U-um. Yeah. Okay.”

He heard a click and looked to the side where Pidge had their cell phone held up. They smirked then burst into a fit of laughter, “Oh my god Keith your face! You look so shocked and embarrassed.”

Keith tried to snatch the phone away but the gremlin was too fast and hid behind Hunk.

Lance placed a hand on his shoulder and Keith bowed his head in defeat before Lance added, “Now you’re an official member of the group. Pidge keeps an extensive folder of embarrassing picture on all of their friends.”

Keith was beginning to wonder what exactly he’d just gotten himself into. He pulled away from Lance a bit, “I’ll… keep that in mind. Maybe I’ll have to start keeping a folder of embarrassing pictures of Pidge.”

Lance just shakes his head, “You can try, but that will only result in them getting pictures of you trying to get pictures of them, which are far more embarrassing. It’s not worth it.”

Keith couldn’t imagine how that could be too embarrassing, “Speaking from experience I take it?”

Hunk put a comforting hand around a dramatic Lance who was trying to act like this whole thing was some big tragedy, “We both do.”

Lance chimed in, “For years we’ve been trying...to no avail. But we’ve had many casualties in our quest.”

Hunk rubbed his arm a bit, “There, there buddy.”

Keith was at a loss. Really. How bad could these pictures actually be? “Is it really that tragic? Are the pictures really that bad?”

Pidge smirked, “I once caught Lance dangling from a tree outside of my window, phone at the ready. Hunk was holding him, and when he fell his shirt caught on a branch on the way down and he just hung there for a solid 5 minutes until his shirt ripped and he fell to the ground. That one I actually got on video.”

Lance pointed, “See! See Keith! They are a monster! Cruel! Never try and get a picture of them being embarrassing or they’ll do that to you!”

Keith looked at Lance and raised a single eyebrow, “You know what you were doing was illegal right? They had every right to shame you.”

Pidge smirked, “Yeah. But I haven’t. Not yet. That’s one of the better resources I use for blackmail. But I’ll only ever use any picture as blackmail once before I delete it. Otherwise having blackmail material for years wouldn’t be very effective. You can’t re-use the same blackmail material twice or else one might feel the need to rebel. But thank you Keith. At least someone knows the meaning of respecting someone’s personal space.”

Keith nodded, “Yeah so…. Can I see that video?”

Pidge smirked, “Depends. What do you have to offer me?”

Lance gasped, “Pidge! You wouldn’t dare!!!”

Pidge chuckled a bit, almost maniacally, “Wanna try me?”

Lance backed away a bit, “No but… be reasonable here.”

Pidge rolls her eyes, “Don’t worry Lance. I don’t give out blackmail material unless the offer is extremely good.”

Keith smirked, “Oh. I think I have an offer for you that’ll work.”

Pidge looked at him intrigued, “I’m listening.”

Keith smirked and pulled out their card and held it in the air to emphasize his point, “We’ll be in touch.” This time he actually did walk away. If he didn’t leave now he never would. He could imagine how exaggerated Lance’s reaction was and Pidge’s curiosity taking hold on them. Pidge seemed like the type that hated not knowing everything, so they’d love to know who the creator of Voltron is. And since he wanted to recruit them to run the website, he needed to tell him who he was anyways. That being said, getting blackmail for Lance out of the deal was just a nice added bonus.

They started walking home from the con. There was a lot of noise from the straggling remaining con-goers and the street, but to Keith is was completely silent. An awkward silence that spanned between him and his brother till eventually it broke. “So you and Lance hm?”

Shiro had clearly been waiting for Keith to bring the subject up but Keith was very adamant about not doing so. Shiro had been forced to play his hand. Keith didn’t know what to do besides push off the issue a fraction of a moment longer, “What about me and Lance?”

Shiro nudged him a bit with his elbow, “Are you guys a thing?”

Keith startled and half glared at him, “You know I’m not gay.” He all but mumbled.

Shiro nodded thoughtfully, “I know that. But do you?”

Why did Shiro have to be so damn smart? “Of course I do.” He replied, but his voice gave way to his own uncertainties and Shiro easily picked up on.

Shiro added, “Let me try this again.” He looked at Keith seriously. “Do you like Lance? Liking a single guy doesn’t make you gay Keith. You could be bi, or pan, I know you have a bit of a past with this sort of thing but it’s okay. You don’t live in that household anymore.”

Keith snapped, “I know it’s okay! Damnit!” He clenched his fist then looked down, “I don’t know okay? I don’t know how I feel about Lance…” And he really didn’t. He didn’t live in Tennessee anymore. Nor Texas. He was living under a household where not being completely straight was actually a possibility to him. But he’d spent so long putting up these mental blockades, that he didn’t know if he was able to push past it anymore.

Shiro gave him an understanding smiled and Keith felt bad for snapping at him again, “No worries Keith. Just know you can always talk to me okay?”

Keith nodded and gave him a shaky smile, “Yeah. Thanks Shiro.”

They headed inside and Keith’s mind was in chaos, but he couldn’t really focus on that right now. For now, he had a couple more panels to finish shading before posting.

He went inside and got his dinner, bringing it upstairs to eat by his desktop. By now the Shirogane’s knew that Sunday he’d be camped out here all night and there was no point in asking him to eat at the table. They could force him, but they were also nice enough to just let him do his work.

He booted up his desktop then plugged in his artist tablet and started getting to work. Initially he was just going to focus on shading, but since the background and the paladin drawings were on different layers in photoshop, he decided to just move Red and Blue a bit closer together. Cater to the fandom just a little bit.

His phone kept buzzing as he worked but he ignored it completely. He was in the zone and as an artist he wanted everything to be just perfect before he posted it.

It took until 11:00 before he was satisfied with his work enough to post it. It was a bit later than normal, but as long as it was still Sunday night it was fine.

He went ahead and posted it before checking his phone to see a string of messages from Lance.

(18:13) Lance: What information do you have that would be juicy enough to trade for blackmail material?

(18:21) Lance: C’mon Keithy! You gotta tell meeeeeee!!!!!!!

(18:23) Lance: Please?

(19:01) Lance: You didn’t miss much for dinner btw

(19:04) Lance: Besides my company, so I guess you actually did miss a lot.

(19:11) Lance: But seriously, the food’s mediocre at best. When I take you out Wednesday I’m bringing you somewhere way better!!

(20:47) Lance: I’m thinking Mexican? For Wednesday?

(21:03) Lance: I’d say Cuban but the only place in town is owned by my Abuela and we don’t need her being nosey during our date.

Keith didn’t know what he thought of this. Lance was clearly thinking that they’d hang out as a group during the day, then go on their date in the evening. He didn’t know what he thought of this plan, though worst comes to worst he figured he could drag Shiro along and solve the problem of having to crash Lance’s dating plans. He seemed to admire Shiro so much that dinner with Shiro was probably an acceptable alternative.

He stared at the phone, trying to figure out how to respond before another text came in.

(23:02) Lance: HAVE YOU READ THE NEW UPDATE OF VOLTRON!!!???

Keith chuckled a bit, finding Lance’s excitement kind of cute.

(23:03) Yeah

(23:03) Lance: YOU CAN’T TELL ME THERE ISN’T ANYTHING BETWEEN RED AND BLUE!!

(23:04) Lance: THEY WERE SO CLOSE!!!

(23:04) Lance: PRACTICALLY HOLDING HANDS!!!

(23:05) Two people who work together standing in close proximity to each other doesn’t mean they’re dating Lance.

(23:05) Lance: It’s a sign!!!

(23:06) Lance: They’re gonna be canon!

(23:06) Lance: I need to update my blogs! Hold on a sec!

(23:06) Take your time.

(23:13) Lance: Okay! Done!

Keith figured he may as well get some opinions on the update while he was at it. Now that he knew a lot of people read his story, he really wanted to know what he thought of it.

(23:14) So besides the ‘obvious’ Blue/Red moment. How did you like the update?

(23:15) Lance: It was really good! This arc is super interesting! I’m so excited for the next update!

(23:15) Is there anything you think could be improved?

(23:16) Lance: Not really! It’s all amazing!

(23:16) Lance: well… maybe there could be more romance?

(23:17) Lance: and Yellow could get a bit more character development?

(23:17) Lance: Oh! Maybe the romance can come from Yellow and that alien girl he likes!

(23:18) Lance: Kill two birds with one stone!

(23:19) Lance: though obviously if we’re talking Voltron romance’s here, I want Red and Blue to be canon more than anything!

(23:20) Good to know.

(23:21) Lance: It’s not just me Keith! The entire fandom is with me on this!

(23:22) Good to know.

(23:23) Lance: do I need to give you Red/Blue lecture 202! Cuz I will!

(23:24) Lance: If my first lecture didn’t school you on the intricacies of their relationships, the second will!

(23:25) Don’t worry about it Lance. I have been properly schooled. I see your point.

(23:26) Lance: Good.

(23:26) Lance: So about our date on Wednesday? Does Mexican work?

Keith froze up. He didn’t know what to say, or what he even wanted to say. So the most logical course of action was to simply delay the inevitable right?

(23:27) Let’s talk about it tomorrow. I’m tired.

(23:27) Lance: Night babe!

(23:29) Night Lance.

Keith sighed and got up from his seat at the desk and collapsed onto his bed. He hadn’t realized just how tired he was until just then, but a day at the con, plus finishing the update, ended up exhausting him both mentally and physically. Though he knew he had to figure things out with Lance at some point, but that ‘some point’ wouldn’t be now.

 

#

 

Lance smiled down at his phone. Keith was totally getting into the fandom! It took Keith so long to respond, and sure he did say he was busy this evening, but too busy to respond to a text message?

But this was huge proof that Keith was a die hard fan too, because as soon as he sent him a text about Voltron, he sent an immediate response!

Lance smiled to himself. He’d daydreamed about this for an extremely long time. He’d finally found the Red to his Blue. A super cute Red cosplayer who looked exactly like the character, and his personality was cute too, and those eyes, and everything about him was just sort of amazing.

Lance was the type to fall hard and fast. Sure he’d flirt with anything in sight, but when he found someone he actually liked well… it didn’t take much to get him to this state, and all of those sweet con kisses weren’t helping. Plus that moment in the bathroom at the bar? There was definitely something there! Lance had definitely found his Red!

His Red just didn’t know it yet.

But he would. Clearly Keith liked him but Lance couldn’t figure out what was holding him back. And he wasn’t stupid. He knew Keith was trying to brush off the date idea, but he also knew that Keith hadn’t outright rejected him so that had to mean something.

Honestly speaking, there was a good chance Lance was getting his hopes up for nothing. The others had said as much at dinner. That a lot of people just kiss anyone in cosplay, and Lance was totally guilty for that himself, but this was totally different. Keith was different, and he was already in way too far to back out now.

Lance laid back on his bed, re-reading all of their texts to see if there was any sign that Keith liked him back. He kept convincing himself that Keith liked him too, but at the end of the day there really wasn’t any proof.

Maybe planning the perfect date would win him over?

He’d think about it tomorrow. Maybe rope Pidge and Hunk into planning something super special for Wednesday! He felt his eyes close as he continued to plan out his date, right up until the point that he fell asleep.

#

Keith woke up late the next day. School wasn’t starting till next week so he’d enjoy his last week of sleeping in. Especially after a few days at the con waking up stupid early.

When he got out of bed it was 11:30 and it still felt like it was too early but he shrugged it off and got up, not bothering to check his phone quite yet but instead whipping out his laptop. He wanted to see the reaction to his new update.

He couldn’t help but smile as he got a flood of praise for his work. He was still in awe that people liked this so much. He really wanted to start interacting with the fandom and it seemed like they wanted to interact with him. Of course, these interactions had to be anonymous and he had to figure out a good way to do that.

He grabbed the business card Pidge gave him along with his phone. He paused there and smiled a bit when he saw a quick text from Lance.

(09:19) Lance: Morning Babe! <3

He decided he’d just send him a quick greeting then focus on Pidge.

(11:48) Morning.

He didn’t know if he should type more or not so he just left it at that. He wasn’t used to texting anyone outside of his foster family so he didn’t exactly know what he was supposed to say. Which left him in the same dilemma with Pidge. What should he say to them? He figured he may as well be blunt. He added their contact information and sent them a quick.

(11:52) Hey. This is Keith.

It didn’t take long before he got a response, in which he was grateful for.

(11:55) Pidge: I know.

 

(11:57) How do you know??

(11:57) Pidge: I hacked Lance’s phone, and figured the contact ‘Red <33’ was you.

Keith blushed a bit. That was sort of a cute name. He quickly changed his own chat name for Lance to ‘Blue’.

(11:59) I shouldn’t have been surprised.

(12:00) Pidge: So what’d you message me about lover boy?

He was about to correct them but figured they’d probably just use it more if he made any insinuation that it annoyed him or bothered him in the slightest. So he left the comment alone, besides, he had important business to discuss now.

(12:01) I have a major job for you that I think you’ll love, but I need you to swear to total secrecy.

(12:01) Pidge: Now you have my attention! What’s the job? Is it illegal?

(12:02) Pidge… just swear to me.

(12:02) total secrecy

(12:03) Pidge: Fine. I swear. Whatever you’ve got cooking I won’t tell a soul.

(12:03) Pidge: Now spill it.

(12:14) Okay so. I write a webcomic and I want to open up a store for it.

(12:14) With merchandise and stuff.

(12:15) Only I don’t have any merchandise nor do I know how to get it.

(12:15) But apparently my webcomic is pretty big so I definitely think it could turn a profit!

(12:16) Pidge: How big we talking here?

(12:16) Voltron big?

(12:17) Pidge: are you saying it’s as big as Voltron or that you write Voltron?

(12:18) That later

(12:19) Pidge: How do I know you’re not lying?

(12:20) Couldn’t you just track my ip address? If you’re that big of a hacker?

(12:27) Pidge: HOLY SHIT YOU WRITE VOLTRON!

(12:27) Pidge: And you want me to open a merch store for you?

(12:28) Yup.

(12:28) I don’t have any money upfront so I’ll just give you a share of the profit?

(12:29) Pidge: Yeah that’s more than fair!

(12:30) How does 30% sound?

(12:31) Pidge: I would’ve done it for 5% since Voltron is crazy popular!

(12:32) Pidge: So yeah, 30% sounds good!

(12:32) Okay so… how do we go about this?

(12:33) Pidge: How about we start with you creating some designs that you think would be cool T-shirts and some posters, and we’ll go from there?

(12:34) Anything else?

(12:35) Pidge: well getting some different art styles in there wouldn’t be a bad idea, so how about holding an art contest in honour of opening a new online store?

(12:36) Pidge: you could choose your favourite designs then have the fandom vote for which ones they’d want to see in your store?

(12:36) Pidge: It’s good from both a marketing standpoint and trying to appease and interact with your fandom.

(12:37) That’s awesome! Let’s do that!

(12:38) I wanted to start communicating with them anyways, but I didn't exactly know where to start.

(12:40) Pidge: If you give me the access codes to your website I can start making a proper homepage, forum, and Store that are all part of the main website, so you don’t need to host everything on a separate site.

(12:41) Couldn’t you just hack into the server?

(12:42) Pidge: technically yes, but you chose a very secured server and I’d rather not play with the security levels.

(12:43) Then I guess I’ll leave everything to you?

(12:43) How long do you think it’ll take to get everything set up?

(12:44) Pidge: I could probably have it done by the end of the week.

(12:45) Seriously??

(12:46) Pidge: For a project by someone I admire, namely the creator of Voltron, I don’t mind bumping their projects to the top of my list.

(12:47) Thanks so much!

(12:47) Pidge: In exchange for a certain something that is.

(12:48) But we already agreed on a price?

(12:48) Pidge: Not money

(12:49) Then…?

(12:49) Pidge: Bragging rights! In the form of a couple autographs.

(12:50) How will anyone even know it’s from me?

(12:51) Pidge: Oh. they’ll know.

(12:51) Pidge: You post the occasional watercolour full page spread, for Christmas and such, and you always include a signature.

(12:52) I thought it was only Lance who was so into this.

(12:52) Pidge: Nope! It’s pretty much our entire friends group.

(12:53) Pidge: So Lance, Hunk, my brother Matt, and me. Also, Allura, but she moved to Florida.

(12:54) huh?

(12:54) Pidge: Nvm, not important.

(12:55) Pidge: Our deal. Autographs in exchange for faster website update?

(12:55) Uh… sure. On one condition

(12:56) Pidge: Anything.

(12:56) You throw in that blackmail material you have on Lance.

(12:57) Pidge: Done. When can i come over?

(12:58) What?

(12:58) Pidge: To start on your website re-design and get my stuff signed.

(12:59) Now? Whenever?

(13:00) Pidge: Tomorrow?

(13:01) Sure?

(13:01) Pidge: I need at least a day for basic planning and to make the rough schematics for a kickass website design that I think you’ll like.

(13:01) Sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow then? Just come over whenever

(13:02) Pidge: Got it!

(13:02) Pidge: So about Lance…

(13:03) What about him?

(13:03) Pidge: Just don’t hurt him okay?

He stared at that message and didn’t know how to respond because… _what if he’d already hurt Lance?_ He knows he shouldn’t have, but he definitely led Lance on while they were in cosplay. Well… was it really leading someone on if he was actually considering things? _Holy shit. WAS HE ACTUALLY CONSIDERING THINGS? With Lance?_

He sat there a moment because… _ya._ He was.

(13:03) I’ll try not to.

That was all he could promise right now. He got up and sat in front of his computer and got to work. When he launched the new website he wanted to make some proper character profiles for all the members of Voltron, so he figured he’d do that right now.

 

#

Lance was filling out one of those magazine quizzes ‘Does your crush likes you back?’ He’s already done four. Two said Keith liked him back, two said he should be looking for another guy. He needed a tiebreaker, hence why he was working his way through this fifth quiz.

That was when Hunk knocked on his door. He barely heard the knock, too engulfed in the quiz that would determine his fate, but the smell that accompanied the door being opened is what drew Lance away from his quiz and left him grinning at the doorway that his amazing best friend was standing in.

Hunk gave him a wide smile and held up a bag of cookies, “You’re favourite.”

Lance raised an inquisitive brow at the other boy, “Chocolate chip?”

Hunk smiled and was already holding out the bag towards Lance, “With dark chocolate chips and a hint of ginger.”

Lance threw his arms around Hunk then proceeded to grab the cookies, shoving 2 into his mouth at once.

Hunk chuckled a bit and smiled, “I figured you’d need those.”

He held up a finger, swallowed, then spoke, “Ya. I did! Thanks Hunk! You’re the best!” He looked around Hunk curiously, “So where’s Pidge?”

Hunk shrugged, “Said they got a last minute job today. High profile client.”

Lance scoffed, “And they couldn’t just do that later? One of their best friends are going through a crises here!!”

Hunk rolled his eyes, knowing his best friend’s dramatics all too well. “On a scale from Andy Helms to Jennifer Coldbecker, where do you stand on the crush-o-meter?”

Lance looked him dead in the eyes, “Melanie Collins.”

Hunks eyes went wide, “Shit. you’ve got it bad.”

Lance groaned and flops on his bed, one hand held backwards over his forehead dramatically, “I know. Woe is me. What am I going to do? I’m at 50/50 on the crush quizzes! What if he doesn’t like me back Hunk!” He sat up at this point to look at his best friend, feeling a pit of panic and melancholy simmering through his stomach.

Hunk looked at him seriously, “Lance. We all saw the way he looked at you. He definitely likes you.”

Lance perks up a bit more, “So it wasn’t just me? You saw it too!?”

Hunk nods, “Yeah. and Pidge, and I’m sure Shiro would have too. It was extremely obvious.”

Lance sighs in relief, “Yeah okay. Then why did he just brush me off like that? And don’t lie and say it wasn’t a brush off, I’m not dumb…”

Hunk rubbed Lance’s back comfortingly, “Don’t be down on yourself buddy. I’m sure it’s just a new thing for him and all.”

Lance looked at him in confusion, “What do you mean?” He wasn’t quite following what Hunk meant. Keith didn’t seem like a first timer when it came to dating, and he definitely wasn’t a first timer when it came to making out.

Hunk sighed, “Lance. He was very pointed about saying he wasn’t gay. This whole ‘being into guys’ thing is probably what’s throwing him off. Just give him time, he’ll come around.”

Lance smirked, getting a wonderful idea, “Or…”

Hunk knew that look all too well and backed away a bit, “Lance! I don’t like the tone of that ‘or’ Do not finish that thought!”

Lance smirked, pointedly ignoring Hunk in this moment, “Or i’ll just take him on the most incredible date and he’ll realize instantly how in love he is with yours truly!”

Hunk looked at him cautiously, “Love?”

Lance waved him off, “Or an intense form of ‘like’. You know what I mean! I’ll put on the good ol’ razzle dazzle!”

Hunk chimed in, ever the sceptic, “He doesn’t exactly seem like the ‘razzle dazzle’ type Lance.”

Lance smirked, wrapping an arm around Hunk, “Hunk my boy. You haven’t really done the whole dating thing before so why don’t I enlighten you on a few things. Everyone likes a little razzle dazzle, and Wednesday evening I have Keith all to myself to put on my smooth moves, smoother words, and fantastic company!”

Hunk chuckled a bit, still nervous but there was no point in trying to talk Lance out of this now. “Uh… sure Lance.”

Lance chuckles a bit and pats him on the back, “Glad to hear you agree! Now help me plan this thing out! I need it to blow Keith’s mind!” Lance grinned widely, the fifth quiz all but forgotten. He wouldn’t need to fill it out because he was sure, that after Wednesday his crush would definitely like him back!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for posting a day late! I had a con halloween event and I completely forgot to post!!! Thanks for reading this! <3


	7. Chapter 7

Keith groaned when he heard an insistent knock. At first he brushed it off but whoever it was kept knocking until he sat up, turned his lamp on, and walked begrudgingly to his door… no one was there yet the knocking persisted. He turned around only to notice a figure shrouded in darkness creeping in the branch near his window.

He almost screamed then thought better of it. He didn’t want to wake up the entire house. Whoever this was, he could handle it.

He cautiously approached the window, picking up his phone on the way and turning on the flashlight feature, shining it at the person and… was that Pidge?

Pidge recoiled from the light and was nearly knocked off the branch. Without hesitation Keith opened the window and held out his hands to help steady them. Pidge grinned at him wickedly.

Keith stared in shock and horror, “WHAT ARE YOU D---”

His voice was caught off when they slapped one of their hands over Keith’s mouth to silence him, “Sssssshhhhhhhhhhh don’t wanna wake the others up.”

He helped Pidge in again before he hissed, “What were you doing!? You could’ve gotten hurt!”

Pidge shrugged, “But I didn’t.”

Keith sighed exasperatedly, “Only because I helped you.”

They crossed their arms defiantly, “I beg to differ, I would’ve been fine.”

Keith sighed, “Whatever. What are you doing here anyways Pidge?”

Pidge shrugged and started piling some of his stuff at the edge of the desk, making themselves at home as they started setting up some of their own laptop, “You said I could come by anytime tomorrow. Well it’s tomorrow so I thought it’d be a perfect time!”

Keith looked at the phone that he still had in his hand, a few messages from Pidge and Lance clouded his lock screen, along with the big bold numbers ‘3:07am’. He looked at Pidge, “I meant at an appropriate time of day. It’s three in the morning!”

Pidge simply shrugged, “You didn’t specify and I didn’t want to waste any time. Anyways, once I boot up my laptop we can look through some of the basic concepts I have for your website.”

Keith groaned, “You don’t play around, do you Pidge?” He gave in and pulled up a beanbag chair, placing it next to the desk. Sure, it wasn’t anywhere near the right size for the desk, but he didn’t have a proper second chair. He’d just kneel on the beanbag or something.

Pidge eyed the beanbag chair enviously, “Got a second one of those?”

Keith smirked, “Sure do.” He gestured to the corner where he’d dragged the beanbag from, it was where him and Shiro often hung out doing their own thing.

Pidge immediately got up, took their laptop, and sat down in the other beanbag chair.Keith brought his own beside them then Pidge finally responded, “I never play around when it comes to Voltron. This is serious business. I’ve been complaining to Lance and Hunk for eons that it needs a better website! Telling them how I could design one so much better, and now here’s my chance Keithers.” They looked Keith in the eyes to emphasize their next point, “Keef. I have never been so serious in my life.”

Keith recoiled a bit. That was… _intense_ , “Ah… okay that’s cool. But um…. What’s with the Keef and Keithers?” He looked at them skeptically.

The grinned, “Nicknames!”

Keith looked at them skeptically, “Uh… sure. Fine. But if you’re calling me by nicknames, shouldn’t I do the same?”

Pidge crossed their arms, “That depends.”

“On?” Keith prompted.

“The quality of the nickname.” Pidge’s added.

Keith rolled his eyes and chimed in sarcastically, “Because Keef and Keither are _quality_ nicknames.”

Pidge nodded, “Glad you see it my way. So what you have in mind Keefers?”

Keith sighed, now they were combining two horrible nicknames? Whatever. Nicknames were a thing friends do and it kind of excited him. “How about Rocket?”

Pidge looked at him weirdly, “Rocket? Why Rocket?”

Keith grinned, “As in Rocket Raccoon? You’re a tech wiz and you climbed up a tree to get to my room. I figured it was appropriate.”

Pidge seemed to contemplate the name for a moment before nodding approvingly, “You’re not bad at this my young padawan. Now to make up great nicknames for everyone else as well! Though… you can’t steal mine.”

Keith looked at them curiously and inquired, “What are yours?”

Pidge smirked, “You’ll see in time. I want to hear your nicknames before I tell you mine, just so that I don’t intimidate you.”

Keith shrugged a bit, “Yeah, sure that’s fine.” He decided that since he was up anyways he’d switch his attention back towards the task at hand. “Anyways Rocket… before we get down to this serious business or whatever, do you want some coffee? I don’t know about you but I’m still waking up…”

Pidge perked up a bit, “Got any hot chocolate?”

Keith nodded, “Yeah. I’ll go get some for you. You finish pulling up what you’ve been working on and stuff.” He walked downstairs and put on the electric kettle, grabbing two mugs and opting out of coffee in favour of making hot chocolate for himself as well, adding in 5 mini marshmallows for good measure.

He came back upstairs and sat next to Pidge, handing them a mug. They looked at each other briefly then Pidge held up their mug for a toast, “To Voltron! May it live on forever and may your website stop being so crappy!”

Keith chuckled a bit at the toast before clicking their mugs together, “To Voltron!” He took a sip in unison with Pidge, to which Keith burned his tongue over and almost spit out. Pidge didn’t seem phased and took another sip. “Shouldn’t you let that cool down a bit?”

Pidge simply shrugged, “Nope. I can handle the heat. I’m a demon from hell after all.” They take another long sip and added, “At least that’s what Lance says.”

Keith laughed a bit and smiled, “Speaking of Lance. Do you got the goods?”

Pidge smirked and held up a USB stick, “It’s all here.” Then pulled out a folder full of Voltron prints, “You can have it after you sign these. I also wrote a contract for us, it’s at the bottom of the stack.”

Keith chuckled a bit, “Sounds good.” He grabbed a sketchbook to use as a hard surface to sign everything on top of. Switching between a black and a silver sharpie depending on how dark the print was.

When he was done he handed them all back to Pidge and they handed him the USB, “Pleasure doing business with you.”

Keith smirked, “Pleasure’s all mine.”

After that they got back to business. Apparently Pidge already had a whole bunch of mockups for possible website designs, having dreamed for a while about what they could do to help make their favourite webcomic better.

They settled on a sleek modern design that was heavy with graphics. They discussed colours, themes, graphics, and he sketched out a proper logo for it all. Overall by the time breakfast came around they’d gotten a lot of work done and, by the day's end, they were both tired, but excited and ready to get this website launched by the end of the week.

At around 8:00am they decided to call it quits for the day. They’d been working at things all day and there was only so much they could do without overloading their minds. Keith fell back in his beanbag chair again, laptop and artist tablet tossed carelessly to the side. “I did not know there was so much work involved in making a website.”

“If you want a basic website, there isn’t, but Voltron doesn’t deserve a crummy basic website It deserves the best!” They grinned at him, adjusting their glasses in a very anime-esq fashion. “Speaking of deserving the best.”

Keith looked at them skeptically, “Uh… yeah?”

Pidge looked at him seriously, “Lance also deserves the best, and you’re pretty damn close to it.”

Keith couldn’t form coherent words, “I - um, what!?!”

Pidge crossed their arms, giving him the stare down, “Lance is a great guy Keith. When he dates someone he throws his whole heart into making the other person happy. I’ve never met someone who cares as much as he does about those he loves. Lance deserves the best and, normally, I don’t approve of his choice in girl or guy, but I think I actually approve of his choice this time.”

It actually meant a lot getting approval from one of Lance’s closest friends. Keith felt honoured but also scared because, yeah, Lance was a great guy. He clearly cared a lot about those he dated, but Keith wasn’t sure he could return those feelings. He still wasn’t completely sure what his own feelings were.

He made eye contact with Pidge How such a small human being could look so intimidating was beyond him. “I know he’s a great guy but you really shouldn’t be so quick to approve of me. I… I don’t even know what my feelings for him are. Or if I’m okay with….” He took a deep breath then finished, “Or if I’m okay with dating another guy. I don’t want to lead him on.”

Pidge gave him a small smile, “You don’t have to know how you feel right away, but try telling this to Lance okay? Go on a few dates with him and tell him you need to figure things out. He’ll be okay as long as you’re honest.”

Keith sighed and looked down at the floor, fiddling with the ends of his hair again, “I don’t want to hurt him.”

Pidge gave him a knowing smile as he looked back over at them, “You won’t. Lance lives by the saying _‘It is better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all.’_ I’m sure that he’d rather be given a chance, even if you’re unsure as to where that chance might lead.”

Keith was kind of amazed at how mature those words were. _Okay._ He would give things a chance. Even if he was completely unsure as to where it all would lead. “How are you so smart? What are you like… 14?”

Pidge smirked and closed their own laptop, “15 actually.”

Keith opened his eyes in surprise, “What!?! I was making a joke. How old is everyone in your group??”

Pidge sighed, “Don’t worry, Lance is technically in your year in school if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Keith sighed in relief, “So 18?”

Pidge shrugged, “17 actually.”

Keith nodded, that made sense, he moved around a lot so he’d lost a year of schooling somewhere between switching between foster parent every few months.

It was starting to get late. Late being 9:00am and both of them were really tired by this point, or at least, Keith was tired. Pidge still seemed to radiate energy and Keith couldn’t quite understand where they got that from.

Keith lead Pidge to the door, mind still stuck on their earlier conversation as he gave Pidge a small wave, “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow with the others?”

They grinned, “Yeah! For sure! And I’m thinking I’ll post on your current website that there’ll be a special announcement Friday night. Can you have the full character profiles done by then? I’ll post them along with the new site.”

Keith nodded, “Yeah. No problem. Sounds good. I’ll have all day Thursday to do them and maybe I can work on them after my date tomorrow.”

Pidge chuckles a bit, “I’m sure Lance would be thrilled to hear you use the word ‘date.’”

Keith blushed a bit, “Um… yeah. I’m sure he would.”

Pidge started walking away, “Well, goodnight Keith.”

Keith smiled a bit and responded, “Night Pidge” before he went back inside to check his messages. He’s wasn’t very good at multitasking so he stayed off his phone all day so that he could pay attention to what Pidge had to say. Now he sort of regretted it, looking at how many texts he had from Lance, not only from today, but from yesterday as well.

He’d said he’d talk about their date yesterday and he never did and he hasn’t responded all day today. Lance probably thought that he was ignoring him and he wasn’t. At least not intentionally.

He looked at the most recent texts from Lance.

(20:47) Blue: Did I do something to upset you?

(20:49) Blue: If you don’t want to go out with me that’s fine.

(20:51) Blue: But I was hoping we could still be friends?

Keith stared at the messages in awe. Lance was a really great guy and super considerate. He took a deep breath and texted back.

(21:07) Sorry things have been really busy.

(21:08) I do though.

(21:08) Want to go on a date with you I mean.

Keith blushed even as he typed those words, he really wasn’t good at this and didn’t know how to handle these feelings.

(21:09) Blue: Really?

(21:09) Blue: Awesome!

(21:09) Blue: No worries at all!

Clearly Lance was worried, but he wasn’t about to point that out after ignoring his texts for two days.

(21:10) So about this date. I’m not actually a fan of Mexican.

(21:10) Can we have sushi maybe?

(21:11) Blue: Actually I have something else planned so don’t worry! Leave everything to me!

(21:12) Blue: Though after back-to-school shopping we’ll have to stop at my house before the date

(21:13) Okay. will do.

He wanted to talk to Lance about what he was feeling but he probably shouldn’t just throw the information at the other boy. He had to do some sort of lead in. Okay, he probably didn’t need a lead in but he wanted to delay talking about this stuff with him just a little longer.

(21:13) So how was your day?

And he was genuinely curious. He wanted to know more about Lance. Especially if he was going to date him. Or well… go on a single date with him, not date him as a whole. Though he may just end up dating him and that idea made him smile just a little.

(21:14) Blue: good! Hung with Hunk for a bit!

(21:14) Blue: He makes the best chocolate chip cookies!

(21:15) Maybe I’ll have to try one sometime

(21:15) Blue: I’ll ask him to bring some to our next sleepover!

(21:16) Sure

(21:16) About tomorrow…

(21:17) Blue: What about tomorrow?

(21:19) I’m not sure

(21:19) Blue: What?

(21:20) I’m not sure about my sexuality or how I feel about you.

(21:20) I don’t know how I feel about going out with a guy.

(21:21) I want to go out with you but I don’t want to lead you on

(21:21) Blue: Babe

(21:21) But I’m scared

(21:22) Blue: Babe, It’s okay.

(21:22) I’m scared I’ll hurt you

(21:22) And I just met you

(21:23) Blue: You won’t, don’t worry about it

(21:23) I don’t make friends easily

(21:24) Blue: KEITH!

(21:24) And I don’t want to lose you if things go wrong.

(21:25) Blue: KEITH!!!!!!!

(21:25) Because I really like you Lance.

(21:26) Blue: KEEEEIIIIITTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keithkeithleithleitkeithkeithkeithkeithkeithleithleithkeithkeithkeithkeithkeithkeithkeith

(21:27) Yes Lance?

(21:27) Blue: Stop worrying so much okay?

(21:28) I don’t want to lead you on

(21:28) Blue: You’re not.

(21:29) Blue: I remember when I was first figuring things out, and how confusing that was.

(21:30) There’s more to it though.

(21:31) Blue: I bet there is.

(21:31) Blue: I don’t know your story Keith nor do I expect you to tell me.

(21:32) Blue: At least right now.

(21:32) Blue: Let’s just take things really slow okay? We’ll move at your pace and if you find that the whole ‘dating guys’ thing isn’t for you, that’s okay.

Keith stared down at the texts, Why was Lance so nice? He took a deep breath, some of the panic in his chest subsiding.

(21:33) I just don’t want to lose you.

He didn’t meet a lot of people and he’s never met anyone like Lance. He was so scared that if things didn’t work out he’d lose the new friendships he’d formed over the last few days. He normally wasn’t one to care too much about others and any connections and bonds often took months to build but… somehow within a few days he already treasured the forming friendships he had with each of them. He didn’t want to risk it all for something he was still so unsure of. But at the same time… he wanted to risk everything for the chance to be with Lance. Maybe that fact scared him more than anything?

(21:33) Blue: If things don’t work out you won’t lose me.

(21:34) Blue: You’ll simply have to classify me as a friend instead of a boyfriend.

Keith couldn’t help but smile to himself

(21:34) I’m still classifying you as a friend

(21:35) For now.

(21:36) Blue: For now

(21:37) So how was your day?

Keith smiled as Lance texted him paragraphs about this or that. He could go on forever about how he added too much chilli powder in his lunch burrito or some sort of shenanigans that one of his nephews got up to. Keith was more than content to just sit there and do his own thing, checking occasionally to read another paragraph of text that was sent to him from the other.

Eventually he had to go to sleep and he told Lance as much. He felt good about the amount of work he got done for his webcomic today, but even better about his conversations with Lance.

He laid back in his bed and couldn’t stop smiling, eager to see everyone tomorrow and especially eager for their date.

#

He woke up a bit late the next day and changed as quickly as he could, not wanting to miss breakfast. When he got downstairs he noticed an unexpected presence was currently occupying his seat and eating his pancakes.

It was too early for this shit.

“Um so… what?” Like that simple statement should be all he needed to say to warrant a response.

Pidge grinned widely up at him, “Morning Keith! Matt burnt breakfast and since you just live right around the corner I thought I’d stop by!”

Shiro grinned, “Pidge had the great idea to add cinnamon to the chocolate chip pancakes!”

Keith sat down in the seat normally occupied by his dad, feeling a bit salty about it before realizing, “Wait what?”

Shiro nods, “Yeah I thought it was weird too, but sure enough, cinnamon was an incredible idea! Strike of pure genius!”

Keith shook his head, “No! Not that! Right around the corner??”

Pidge grinned devilishly, “Oh yeah. So you better believe I’m going to be around more often.”

Keith groaned finding himself once again wondering what he got himself into. Instead of voiceing his concerns he grumpily grabbed a stack of pancakes, drowned it in maple syrup, and started shovelling the breakfast food into his mouth.

As soon as they were all finished Shiro asked him where they were picking Lance and Hunk up and now he was grateful for Pidge being there because he had no clue. Since Pidge knew where everyone lived they immediately claimed the shotgun seat, which left Keith in the back alone.

Mind you, he wasn’t alone for long. He soon found himself squeezed between Hunk and Lance in an uncomfortable though not altogether undesirable situation. What he meant by that was, it was nice to be pressed against Lance.

He figured it was a weird thing to think, but he just liked to be close to the other boy so he found himself smiling despite how cramped it was. They ended up exchanging knowing glances with each other. Lance’s hand resting on his thigh and a permanent blushing displaying itself on Keith’s face.

When they arrived at the mall, Keith didn’t quite know if it was a blessing or a curse, but he got out of the car and started walking towards the mall entrance in silence. He wasn’t exactly sure how to talk to Lance right now. He’d casually said good morning to him when he got in the car but that was about it.

Luckily Lance seemed to know exactly what to say as he came up beside him, smiling another dazzling smile that left Keith’s heart beating rapidly. “Hey! So did you get everything you needed to get done yesterday? What were you doing anyways?”

Keith wasn’t that good at lying so he figured he just wouldn’t tell him the full story, “Didn’t finish everything but I got a lot done. Honestly I wasn’t doing anything too big. It’d probably bore you.”

Lance chuckled a bit linking their arms and making Keith blush, “I don’t think anything you say would bore me Keith.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “What about about business economics in the marketing world?” Really he was just naming off the title of one of Shiro’s university textbooks.

Lance stared at him and nodded thoughtfully, “Yeah okay, that might bore me. So tell me something that won’t? What else are you into, besides Voltron obviously?”

Keith reached the doorway and opened it for Lance, following him inside. The others were slow and trailing a bit behind. He figured this was probably Lance’s doing. “Um… I like to draw I guess? I’m also pretty decent at video games?”

Lance’s eyes lit up, “Dude, what games!?”

Keith didn’t know how to answer that, seeing how they were mostly embarrassing dating sims. Not even the normal stuff. Though he also played Overwatch... so maybe go with that one? “Overwatch mostly.”

Shiro decided to take this moment to catch up with the two of them before adding in, “And Dream Daddy.”

Keith flushed in embarrassment and stuttered, “That was on a dare! ”

Shiro chuckled a bit, “You didn’t need to play it for 2 weeks straight though.”

Keith groaned and Lance chuckled a bit, “Dream Daddy hm? Does that mean you have a daddy kink? Cuz I can totally be your daddy Keith.” He winked and Keith’s face turned even more red.

He shook his head, “I don’t think you could pull that off…”

Lance smirked, “You wanna bet?” He seemed to prep himself before trying to change his voice so he sounded like a sour old man, scrunching up his face for effect as he said, “You young-un whippersnappers get off my lawn before I call the police!”

Keith cracked a smile and the others couldn’t help but burst out in laughter.

Pidge looked at Lance with a condescending tone, “I’m pretty sure that’s an old man voice Lance, not exactly ‘daddy’ material.”

Keith smirked, “Yeah, if anyone’s ‘daddy’ material here it’s Shiro.”

Shiro looked shock, “What? How am I like a dad?”

Keith looked at him seriously, “You literally offered to drive us all to the mall to buy us school supplies. You’re always making sure i’m eating right and encouraging me to socialize.”

Pidge nodded in affirmation, “Yup! Definitely a dad! I guess that’ll be your new nickname!”

Shiro shook his head, “Um… please no.”

Keith grinned, “Please yes.”

Pidge nodded like the consent from Keith was all they needed, “Daddy it is.”

Shiro groaned and Lance pouted a bit, “I could totally be a daddy!”

Hunk placed a hand on Lance’s shoulder and gave him a kind smile, “I know you could Lance. Don’t worry about it buddy.”

Lance gave him a wide smile, “I’d seriously make a kickass daddy!”

Hunk nodded and gave him a fake assured smile, “Of course you would.”

Keith adds before he can really stop himself, “You don’t need to be a daddy Lance, you have your other charms.”

Lance leaned in close and grins, “Oh yeah? Like what?”

Keith stared at him, blushing from the close proximity. _Your smile, eyes, laugh, how kind you are, you’re ability to affect everyone you meet in the most amazing way, your charisma._ “Um… y’know? Just…. Stuff.”

Lance moved into ever closer and his breath hitched a bit, “What sort of stuff.”

Keith didn’t know what to say. He found himself thinking about what Blue would do and responded with an easy smirk and murmured in his ear, “You’re a pretty good kisser.” Then brushed past him, leaving Lance red faced and speechless, clearly caught off guard.

Pidge laughed a bit, grinning widely, “Whatever you said to Lance you should say it more often. He’s speechless, and I for one am enjoying the peace and quiet!”

Keith chuckled a bit and responded with an easy, “Me too!”

Lance recovers after a few minutes to see everyone going on ahead of him. He ran to catch up, “Hhheeeeeyyyyyyy I resent that comment!” He whined.

Keith chuckled a bit, “You resemble that comment.”

Lance pouted a bit before Shiro chimed in, “This is all well and good but we only have the afternoon to pick up everything we need. What does everyone need to pick up?”

Pidge readjusted their glasses, “I need some new components for my laptop. I’ve been tinkering with the hard drive a bit and I think I’m found a way to make the storage space more efficient.”

Hunk added, “I need a new laptop altogether so i’ll head to the electronics store with you Pidge.”

Keith shrugged, “I just need basic school supplies.”

Lance chimes in, “And a new wardrobe, because you’re a walking fashion disaster!”

It’s Keith turn to be mildly insulted, “What’s wrong with my outfits?”

Lance puts his hands on his hips and _god he looks like one of those valley girl types right now. Or ultra gay guys. Some sort of stereotype. Why does fashion choice even matter!?!_ “Everything. Everything’s wrong with your outfit and I’m going to change that.”

Shiro chuckles a bit, “I was just going to suggest we split up to get out school supplies and meet up at the food court in 2 hours.”

Lance grins widely, “In two hours Keith will look like a new man.”

Shiro hands Lance a pile of cash and Keith’s eyes bulge, “Make sure to use this all on new outfits for Keith. I agree, he needs them.”

Keith gasps and crosses his arms annoyed, “Shiro! My clothes are fine!”

He rolls his eyes, “No. They’re not. Half your stuff has holes in them.”

Keith groans, “That’s a super common style.”

Lance chimes in helpfully, clearly the expert, “For jeans it’s acceptable, though I think skinny jeans without rips is better, but on literally everything else it isn’t. It’s just sloppy. And even your shirt has rips in it!”

Keith rolled his eyes, “It still functions as a T-shirt. What’s the problem?”

Lances gasps dramatically and wraps an arm around Keith’s shoulders, “Keith. Keithy boy. My pal. My amigo. My friend. It matters. Let me show you the amazing world of fashion.”

Keith proceeded to get dragged around the mall by Lance, getting lectured about the different brands and what not. They all seemed really boring to him. If he was going to spend his foster parents money it had to be something that would make sense, not something that Lance wanted him to wear, which were all trying way too hard to be cool. He wasn’t a poser.

He walked past many stores, tuning out Lance and looking at the window samples until one caught his eye, and he walked inside, Lance surprisingly not stopping him but following his choice up with, “Why am I not surprised?”

He looked around and proceeded to the back of the store, “What do you mean?”

Lance shrugged and grinned, “Hot Topic just suits your emo vibe.”

Keith groans again, “I’m not emo!”

Lance simply waves him off, “Sure you're not, but the style suits you.” He shoved a random white band shirt in his hand. _Black Veiled Brides?_ He’d never heard of them but Lance seemed to think it was aesthetically important. Those and some skinny jeans, a choker, red beanie, and some leather cuff arm bands.

He came out of the change room feeling ridiculous, giving Lance an unimpressed look as he crossed his arms, “Seriously Lance?”

Lance nodded and grins widely, “The look suits you”

Keith huff's a bit, “I don’t even know the band…”

Lances gasps, “I thought all emos knew this band!”

Keith simply went back into the changeroom mumbling, “I’m not an emo.” He proceeded to change but he sort of liked the black washed out skinny jeans so he’d keep those. He also saw a Harley shirt and she was sort of cool so he picked that up along with a black vest-jean hoodie that had red accents. The only thing he kept from Lance’s original ensemble besides the jeans was the beanie. He sort of liked that.

When he came out Lance was making a point to check him out and Keith was thoroughly embarrassed, “Um… is this okay?”

Lance nods, “I think so. Turn around for me.”

Keith turned his back to Lance and Lance immediately responded with, “Are you from outer space? Cuz your ass is out of this world!”

Keith turned around and blushed deep red. That was one of the Blue’s pickup lines. Why was he so flustered by it? He looked away and mumbled, “Then I’ll just get this.”

Keith went back into the change room then went to chose several more outfits with a geek flare to them before paying and exiting the store. He checked his phone for the time and, apparently, Lance was doing the same because he chimed in with, “We still have an hour. Anything you wanna do?”

Lance shrugged, “Not really. What even is there to do at a mall?” Lance smirked and Keith was already sorry he asked.

They wandered around for a few minutes before they found themselves in the local Wal-Mart, gripping the sides of the shopping cart as Lance sped them down the aisles. They got a few warnings from sales clerks but they clearly didn’t get paid enough to do anything about it.

Keith thought he might actually die.

He never took Lance for the reckless adrenaline junky type but clearly that presumption was wrong. Though maybe it was just that it got Keith’s adrenaline pumping because he wasn’t used to doing anything like this.

When they finally found themselves stopping in front of the school supplies section, he took a big breath of relief. “You could’ve killed us Lance!”

Lance chuckled a bit and responded teasingly, “Only you. I’m not the one in the cart!” Keith gave him a pointed look before he added, “Relax. I do this all the time with my nephews. I’m an expert at steering these things!”

Keith grumbled a bit and got out of the cart, still shaken by how fast Lance went and all the sharp corners they took. He started grabbing basic school supplies, binders, pens, paper, and some nice new drawing pencils and some pencil crayons. He also grabbed a small sketchbook which would be perfect for doodling in class.

Lance got a similar assortment of stuff, minus the drawing supplies. “I’d love to see your drawings sometime.”

Keith shrugged, “It’s nothing super impressive. It’s pretty much the same art style as Voltron.”

Lance’s eyes lit up, “Then I definitely wanna see that!! Maybe you could draw me as a Voltron character!”

Keith chuckles a bit and pushes the school supplies to the side of the cart, “Maybe. But I’m pretty sure you’d just look exactly like Blue.”

Lance nodded, “True. True. Then draw me as Blue in some of my more stylish normal clothes!”

Keith rolls his eyes, “Sure Lance. Sounds good. I’ll draw it just for you. Now get in.”

Lance looks at Keith skeptically, “Have you ever driven one of these carts before.”

Keith looks at him seriously, “Don’t you trust me Lance?”

Lance grins widely and responds immediately, “Nope!”

Keith sighs, “Just get in the cart.” and Lance proceeds to get in. Keith was much less successful in speeding the cart. Lance must’ve actually been a pro at it because making sharp turns while maintaining speed was hard. He almost knocked the cart over several times and at the last turn towards the checkout counter they crashed straight into Shiro.

Shiro looked extremely unimpressed as Lance and Keith grinned sheepishly up at him. Lance was the first to break the silence, “He Shiro. What um… what are you doing here?”

Shiro sighed, “Do you know how dangerous this is? You two could’ve gotten seriously hurt. And what about other shoppers? There’s a lot of kids around today doing back to school shopping. What if you’d hurt one of them!”

Keith looked down, “Sorry Shiro.”

Lance clearly didn’t know when to keep his mouth quiet and just apologize because he lifted himself out of the cart and smirked, “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t have let anyone get hurt! I was making sure Keith had a handle on driving a cart the whole time! I’m both an expert cart driver and an expert teacher!”

Shiro made eye contact with Keith, willing him to either confirm or most likely deny this fact.

Keith gave in immediately, “We also crashed twice, nearly taking down a whole shelving unit.”

Lance gasped, “KEITH! Don’t give us away!” He turned to Shiro sheepishly, “But we didn’t! The point is nothing happened!”

Shiro sighed in defeat and gave them both pointed looks, “Just don’t do it again. Let’s just check out.Do you have enough money leftover Keith?”

Keith simply nodded and they all proceeded to check out and head over towards the food court for lunch.

Keith was silent as everyone sat down and started eating, smiling a bit because, despite Shiro’s lecture, he had a lot of fun. Some part of his mind had wondered if things with Lance would be different outside of cosplay, but it wasn’t and that was actually really nice.

As he ate, Lance stole a few of his fries and smiled playfully as he popped them in his mouth, licking his lips and distracting Keith from his previous thoughts.

His innocent thoughts about Lance turned into deeper thoughts about their date tonight and the curiosity of how Lance would taste right now. He was really craving salt. He wondered if a bit of the salt still lingered on Lance’s lips, especially since Lance ate the last of his fries. He wanted to lean in and kiss him, taste it for himself, and he started to lean in but held himself back.

They hadn’t even been on a date. He didn’t want to rush into things. And he didn’t even know whether or not he was into guys. Still, when Keith’s eye’s pulled away from Lance’s lips he saw deep blue eyes watching him and a small smirk forming on the owners lips.

Keith gulped a bit, those eyes did something to him. They affected him in a way he didn’t quite understand. His heart sped up and his breath hitched a bit. They were beyond beautiful.

They others noticed the two of them and smirked. Pidge being the one to chime in, “If you guys are done mentally fucking each other, the rest of us were thinking of heading to a board game cafe. Then you guys can get off to your date, unless you’re sick of each other by then.”

Lance smirked,“I don’t think I could ever get sick of you babe.” He winks at Keith before turning to Pidge, pumping his fits in excitement, “Oh yeah, I’m all for board games! Think you can handle losing Keith?”

This fueled something in Keith, “I’m pretty good at games! You’ll be the one going down!”

Shiro chuckled a bit, “You’re good at video games.”

Keith shrugs, “What’s the difference.”

Lance just grinned widely, “Oh. You’ll see.”

Turns out board games are very different from video games. More strategy, less straightforward. Keith still destroyed Lance at them. Lance said it was just beginners luck; however, Pidge ended up destroying everyone so Keith didn’t have much to brag about anyways.

Lance was a sore loser throughout the entire thing, and Keith couldn’t help find it cute when Lance started getting all pouty. He wished he had a picture of Lance, and made a mental note to ask Pidge for a picture of him pouting later. He figured they’d have one.

Eventually at around five, Lance insisted they needed to get going so they packed up their things and headed out.

Lance smiled at Keith as they sat next to each other in the car again, grabbing his hand and making Keith blush before he called out to Shiro, “Keith can just be dropped off with me.”

He couldn’t see Shiro’s face right now but he knew he was probably smirking, “Okay. Enjoy your date you two. Be safe.”

Keith nodded even though Shiro couldn’t see it. His heart beating wildly, he was not ready for this date. He was so nervous. Beside him, Lance squeezed his hand and murmured, “It’ll be okay. Don’t worry about it too much okay?”

Keith took a few deep breaths. Lance must’ve noticed the panic of his face so he tried to calm down a bit.

It’s not like it was his first date, but it was the first time someone was taking him out instead of the other way around. He looked over at Lance as he was already looking at him and smiling and... _yeah._ Maybe he’d be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... depression's been kicking my but lately so chapters might be a bit shorter after this one for the next little while. But I promise I'll still be updating weekly! I'll also try and add a bit more story to them, so even if they're shorter they'll still have a lot of substance overall!
> 
> That being said I loved writing this chapter! Kidge is 100% my BROTP! I actually really loved this chapter so I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!


	8. Chapter 8

Shiro dropped them off and Keith would be lying if he said he wasn’t scared as hell. On top of having to date a guy, he would also probably have to briefly meet Lance’s family. What if they drilled him like he was Lance’s boyfriend or something? Or worse, looked at him and judged him and reminded him how wrong this all was. Keith wasn’t sure he could handle that or not.

He followed Lance inside quietly, shuffling his feet as he looked down at the ground, hoping that as long as he didn’t make eye contact with whoever was inside, no one would talk to him.

Lance must’ve noticed this because he elbowed him a bit and Keith looked up, being blinded by Lance’s smile in the process. “Why don’t you wait outside? I’ll be out in a second.”

Keith nodded, extremely grateful to Lance as he left the room and sat on the porch swing, pulling out his phone and seeing that Pidge had sent him a few texts.

(17:26) Rocket: Good luck!

He paused a bit, staring at the black lettering. _What was that supposed to mean?_

(17:34) Thanks?

(17:34) What’s that supposed to mean?

(17:35) Rocket: Just what it sounds like.

(17:35) Rocket: good luck.

(17:36) Shouldn’t you be saying something more along the lines of, ‘have fun’?

(17:37) Rocket: Nope

(17:37) If I wasn’t nervous before, I would be nervous now…

(17:38) Rocket: Were you nervous?

(17:38) You know I was. Now I’m just twice as nervous

(17:39) Rocket: oh…

(17:39) Rocket: well have fun!

(17:40) Too late. I’m going to die I just know it.

(17:40) Rocket: If it helps I have it on good authority that Lance isn’t a serial killer.

(17:41) Doesn’t help Rocket...

(17:41) But thanks for putting that thought in my head.

Keith was really hoping that his sarcasm was still being understood even through text. He looked up to hear Lance’s voice, yelling some sort of spanish to someone else inside. Probably just saying goodbye.

(17:42) gtg

(17:42) Lance is coming out

(17:42) Rocket: Enjoy your hot date!

Keith rolled his eyes and pocketed his phone, taking a few deep breaths before he stood up again and saw a smiling Lance with a large picnic basket.

_Okay. So Lance’s big plans was a picnic? That he could manage._

Keith walked up to the other boy who immediately held out his hand to him. If Keith was actually going to try to make this work he knew, logically speaking, he should be okay with taking Lance’s hand. So he did.

Lance’s hand was warm in his own and he was sure, any moment now he’d start sweating like nobody's business, his hand would get clammy, and it would ruin everything. That’s what he thought at least, but Lance smiled down at him and the idea of clammy hands no longer seemed like an issue. Lance seemed so happy to be holding his hand and Keith was amazed that he found himself smiling along with him.

It was almost six and it was slowly starting to get dark as Lance led him around to the back of his house, revealing a beautiful forest area with a borderline a creepy pathway that disappeared between thick branches.

It looked like a scene from a horror movie and as Lance led him towards it, he wondered briefly if Pidge had been wrong. Perhaps Lance was in fact a serial killer and Keith was his latest victim.

They walked through the woods. His hands getting clammy for a whole other reason. _What did he really know about Lance besides that he liked to cosplay and was a good kisser? Basically nothing. At all._ Keith was convinced that... _yup, Lance was a serial killer._ Rip him. He’ll see his brother in the afterlife.

He took another look at the boy and all his fears melted away because Lance was still taking tentative glances over at him every five seconds and his hands were equally as clammy. It felt like everything they were feeling, every nerve, worry, itch of excitement, was mimicked in the others actions.

Mind you the reasons behind their nerves were definitely different but just knowing that Lance was also nervous helped him calm down a bit.

Now that he’d stopped panicking he had a chance to look around and take in the forest.

It was breathtaking.

Sparse trees surrounded them and the sky could be seen poking through the branches, plenty of wild flowers spread out around them. The path ahead of them was brushed with fallen leaves leftover from last autumn and the boy with the basket led him through it all. His presence completed the beauty of the scene.

They eventually stopped at one of the larger trees and Keith looked up at it noticing wooden posts nailed into the tree that created a ladder leading towards a platform near the top of the tree. He stared up and couldn’t help but smile a bit. He was afraid Lance might try to pull something that would be equally embarrassing and elaborate, but this was simple and sort of perfect.

 

#

 

Lance handed the picnic basket to Keith. He planned to make this evening magical and finish it all with a little more razzle dazzle. After tonight there was no way Keith would question his feelings anymore. He would do some grade A wooing tonight! “Hold this and wait here.”

He proceeded to climb the ladder towards the platform and found the thick rope waiting on top, throwing the one side down to Keith, “Tie the picnic basket to the end of the rope!” As soon as Keith finished tieing it, he brought the picnic basket up and Keith took this as his cue to climb up.

Keith smiled at him, “So this is the big date hm?” God his smile was beautiful, this boy was gonna be the death of him.

Lance started spreading out the picnic, starting with a classic checkerboard style blanket, hot chocolate that he’d asked his mom to have ready, along with juice boxes and seven different kinds of sandwiches.

Keith raised an eyebrow at him, “You planning on feeding the whole forest?”

He smiled sheepishly, “Just didn’t know what kind of sandwiches you liked. Hunk helped me make a few more gourmet ones but the PB&J ones were 100% sculpted by yours truly. Sorry it’s not something more fancy.”

Keith grabbed one of the PB&J’s and unwrapped it from the saran wrap, he smiled softly at him and his heart once again melted from the sight, “It’s okay. I like PB&J. I um… thanks for not doing something more elaborate. I thought you were going to do something big and uncomfortable.”

This had Lance freezing a bit and smiling sheepishly, “Oh yeah. It’s super cashe. No big plans. This is it. Just good ol’ PB&J and a classic picnic.” He subtly pulled out his phone.

(18:13) Abort!

(18:13) Hunkilicious: Abort what.

(18:13) PLAN RAZZLE DAZZLE!

(18:14) Hunkalicious: why?

“Um… Lance? What are you doing?” Keith looked at him in confusion, nibbling on the crusts of the sandwich… which was completely adorable.

He smiled sheepishly, “Nothing at all.” Then sent a final text.

(18:15) Just cancel it!

He turned off his phone and shoved it in his jacket pocket. He missed a bullet. He’s glad he started out tame because after the fireworks there would’ve been no going back. He grabbed a PB&J sandwich for himself and bit in.

He figured now would be a good time for some small talk, “So… why do you eat the crusts first?”

Keith seemed hesitant to answer but soon responded, “One of the sons of my first foster family ate it like this. I guess it just became a habit?”

Lance was surprised to say the least. _Foster family?_ “Um… foster family? So are you…” his voice trailed off.

Keith shook his head, “Adopted? No I’m not. The Shirogane’s are just kind enough to let me stay there. They’re my foster family.”

There was an uncomfortable silence and he knew he should change the topic but he was never good at shutting up when he knew he should, “Why’d you have to leave your first family then? Not that I’m not glad you live close by, because I really am.”

A guarded look crossed Keith’s face as he mumbled, “Something happened and I had to leave, okay?” His face hardened as he added a bit louder, “Can we not talk about this?”

_A+ job there Lance. Way to make your date uncomfortable. You’re supposed to dazzle him, not turn him away. Why are you such a failure?_

He cut off his internal monologue to look at Keith and give him an apologetic smile, “Sorry Keith. Let’s talk about something else. Like… um…. You look really nice today. I’m glad you changed into that Hot Topic stuff. It really suits you.”

Keith blushed a bit and seemingly calmed down as quickly as he’d gotten riled up, “You’re not trying to make fun of me are you?”

Lance gasps, holding his hand to his chest, “Me? Never.” he smirks, “Okay, maybe not never, but not about this. I was there with you choosing stuff out. You seriously look great. Messy hair and all.”

Keith looked away and bit into his sandwich, mumbling, “I tried brushing it.”

Lance grinned widely, “Aawwwww for me? Keithy I’m flattered. I didn’t think you cared.” He took a bite of his own sandwich.

Keith rolled his eyes and he kept eating, speaking between bites, “If you’re gonna be like this, maybe next time I won’t bother.”

He chuckles a bit, “So if this is what your hair looks like brushed, what does it look like when it isn’t?”

Keith pouted a bit. An adorable pout that Lance just wanted to see all the time. Maybe he could sneakily take a photo or something? “It’s not actually that bad is it?”

Lance leaned in and brushed away a stray hair from his face, letting his fingers ghost along Keith’s cheek, lingering there just a moment longer as he murmured, “I’m only teasing. I think it suits you.” He was about to pull his hand away before Keith was leaning into the touch and suddenly the date wasn’t going so bad.

He looked into Keith’s eyes to see them looking right back at him. The slight glow of the slowly rising moon casted an almost purple hue on them. It entranced him causing the thought of how lucky he felt to be near such beauty.

He leaned in slightly; his thumb stroked his cheek and the dwindling heat from the atmosphere seemed to be pulling them together. They stayed there for a moment. No one said anything and the world faded away.

Keith murmured out, “Thanks.”Lance wondered when he’d drifted near enough to feel those whispered words brush against his lips. He was tempted to close the gap but they were out of cosplay. He didn’t know what Keith wanted. But Keith didn’t leave him wondering for long as he closed the gap and gently brushed their lips together in what could barely classify itself as a kiss, but it was there. Keith was kissing him.

Keith pulled away before Lance could properly respond. He blushed and looked down and to the side. He’d never seen this boy so shy in his life and Lance found it absolutely adorable.

 

#

 

Keith was a flustered mess. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Lance. He didn’t have to worry whether Lance was okay with what he’d done or not, he knew Lance would be thrilled. Keith on the other hand still didn’t know how he felt and this. He didn’t know what had possessed him to do that but now that he’d done it he couldn’t take it back and he didn’t know what to make of it.

In the moment, it all just felt so right.

Keith thanked the heavens for Lance speaking up and finally saying something to cut the tense atmosphere. “So are you ready for dessert?”

Keith looked up and nodded, still a bit shy about the whole thing. “Uh… yeah dessert sounds good.”

Lance grinned and took out two tubaware container, one containing strawberries, and the other chocolate sauce. Keith gave him a blank stare, “Isn’t this a bit cliche?”

Lance grinned widely, “No such thing!”

Keith sighed and looked at them warily then back up at Lance, “Please don’t tell me you plan to feed them to me as well.” It’d be just like Blue… or Lance to make this as cliche as possible.

As if on cue, Lance already had a strawberry in hand and was making airplane noises and making his way towards Keith’s mouth. Keith crossed his arms completely unimpressed.

“Zzzzzz open up for the airplane Keithy!” Lance grinned playfully and Keith huffed a bit. When he refused to open his mouth, the ‘airplane’ rammed right into his lips, getting chocolate sauce everywhere. He instinctively darted his tongue out to clean up the chocolate and Lance shoved the strawberry in his mouth.

Keith bite into the sweet fruit disdainfully, trying his hardest not to admit even to himself that he really liked it. He swallowed and half glared at Lance with no real malice behind it. “Seriously Lance?”

Lance smirked and met his glare straight on, “I’ve never been more serious.” He holds up another strawberry. “Now open wide for the airplane.”

Keith grabbed a strawberry himself and dunked it in the container of chocolate and smirked, holding it towards Lance’s mouth, “Open wide for the choo choo train, chugga chugga, chugga chugga, whoo whoo!” They reached each others mouth at the same time and both clamped their mouths shut defiantly, staring each other down.

Keith decided he’d pull the same stunt that Lance pulled earlier and and rambed the strawberry into his mouth. Only difference was that Keith was very inexperienced in the art of feeding strawberries to another person and the chocolate dripped all down his chin.

Lance stared at Keith shocked for a moment, eyes wide and Keith immediately burst into laughter. It didn’t take long before Lance joined him, grinning at Keith. “You have a cute laugh.”

Keith smiled at Lance and responded immediately before he got so flustered that he couldn’t, “You have a cute smile.”

Lance grinned widely at him, “Like this?”

Keith nodded, “Yeah, exactly like that, and I think the chocolate all over your face is a nice touch” He smirks a bit and the other boy smirks along with him.

“Oh yeah?” Lance leans in and kisses him, this time a bit more deeply, tilting his head and when they pulled away, Keith’s chin is also covered in chocolate.

He didn’t mind at all.

He smiled at Lance then licked his lips a bit before grinning devilishly at the other boy, “I think I’m really enjoying dessert.”

He felt extremely accomplished when it was Lance being left in such a flustered state this time. Lance reached into the picnic basket and brought out some napkins so they could both clean themselves up a bit before proceeding to eat the strawberries like any sane person would.

Or at least that’s what Keith tried to do. It didn’t take long before Lance was making airplane noises again and Keith just gave up and let the other boy feed him, because really, what was the harm?

They were soon done and Keith wondered if that was it. If the date was now over and he was supposed to go back home now. He didn’t want to leave.

Lance was packing up the food and Keith wondered what he could do to make this last longer. He enjoyed spending time with Lance.

He noticed for the first time that it was now dark and it was beginning to get a bit chilly. He wrapped his arms around himself and gazed out at the dark forest before he felt a soft warmth covering him. He looked down and saw a blanket, and looked over and saw Lance, giving him such a soft loving gaze and his heart stirred in a way that he didn’t know how to explain. But here under the moonlight, Lance looked ethereal. Like something that was too beautiful for this world.

He stared at Lance and murmured, “Thanks..” Before Lance went back to what he was doing, no longer packing things away but now laying down another blanket and lighting a few candles along the border of the platform.

Lance sat on the blanket and patted the place beside him and Keith shuffled over and offered Lance half the blanket he was wearing. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder as the other boy pulled him into himself. Now pressed against Lance, he could hear how fast Lance’s heart was beating. He smiled as their speeding hearts beat in tandem with each other.

Lance looked up and pointed to something, Keith’s eyes followed his gaze and he saw the night sky, open and wide and filled with stars. “See that star? The really bright one? If you follow it up it forms the big dipper.”

Keith nodded alongside him, “Yeah. It also helps make up a bigger constellation called Ursa Major. If you can see the stars around it and how it connect.”

Lance hums in recognition, “Yeah. I know. Constellations are beautiful. My favourite is Andromeda. She’s beautiful in the myths and the sky.”

Keith chuckles and looks at Lance, finding Lance gazing right back at him, “Of course you’re like her. You’re all about beauty aren't you.”

Lance chuckles a bit, “Beauty definitely helps. I mean, have you seen my face?”

Keith rolls his eyes, “You’re ego is way too big.”

Lances adds, “Or yours? I think your beauty even rivals Andromeda”

Keith blushes at this and looks back up at the sky, “I um…. Thanks.”

Keith let the silence wash over him for a minute before adding, “I like Orion. The hunter. He’s strong and powerful. A strength that I can only obtain in stories…”

Keith can hear the smile in Lance’s voice as he adds, “I knew you drew but I didn’t know you also wrote.”

Keith knows he had to be careful about his words now but he doesn’t want to lie to Lance, “Yeah. I dabble.”

Lance adds immediately, “Maybe sometime I can read your stuff?”

Keith nods, “Yeah. Maybe eventually.”

After that they stay there in silence. Keith moves in closer to Lance, leaning his head on the other boys shoulder as they stare up that the stars.

He doesn’t know how much time passes, but eventually he starts to feel tired and he knows he has to get up or he’ll definitely fall asleep out here, so he moves from his position.

Lance looks at him through half lidded eyes, probably not far off from sleep as well. He murmurs, “We should probably go.”

Lance looked slightly saddened but nods, “Yeah, I guess we probably should.”

Keith hated seeing that look on the other boy so he kissed him briefly and Lance immediately kissed back. He smiled and pulled away from the boy slightly, cupping his face in his hand, “Thank you Lance.” His heart was pounding so hard. He’d never felt this way before. Even when he’d dated girls it had never been like this, and that terrified him.

He pulled away completely and stood up, offering his hand to Lance as the other boy stood with him and they both set about packing everything away.

Keith climbed down first again and Lance lowered the basket down to him. Soon enough they were heading back to the house. The forest wasn’t very well lit so he just took Lance’s hand and trusted the other boy to guide him through the forest. Lance’s hand was so warm and now he was very conscious of how cold the night air was without their shared body heat.

It didn’t take long to reach Lance’s house and Lance told him to stand outside once more and wait. Soon Lance joined him, holding up keys, “I’ll drive you home. Mom said I could take the car.”

Keith shook his head, “You don’t have to. I can bus. It’s really late and you probably want to sleep.”

Lance just grabbed his hand and lead him to the car, “Nonsense. What sort of gentleman would I be if I didn’t drive my date home afterwards?” He got in the car and added, “What’s your address? I need to add it into the GPS.”

Keith gave him the address and they drove home in silence. It wasn’t an awkward silence, just comfortable, natural. Keith couldn’t help but smile a bit the whole time, glancing over at Lance every two seconds. God, there was no way he deserved someone like this. Someone so understanding, patient, kind, and loyal. Someone so special.

He’d never felt special in his entire life. He’d always been told who to be, what to say, been tossed aside, around to different people and different families who didn’t like him. He’d never been treated like he was anything. But now… now he felt special by association, because if someone as special as Lance liked him, there must be something more to him.

Lance pulled into his driveway and Keith got out, Lance came out as well, much to his surprise, and walked him to his front door.

Lance stared down at him and smiled softly, “I hope you had a good time tonight.”

Keith matched his smile, “Yeah. I did.”

Lance seemed relieved by this tidbit of information before adding hopefully, “Maybe we could do this again sometime?”

Keith felt himself nodding, “Yeah. Definitely” before he leaned in and kissed Lance briefly, then turned around and walked inside, smiling widely as he made his way straight over to Shiro’s room and didn’t even knock on the door before opening it.

Shiro looked up from his bed where he was reading, “So how’d it go?”

Keith took a deep breath. If he said this out loud it would make it all the more real, but he wanted to say it. He wanted to be out there. “I um… I think I’m gay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I have a few questions for you guys!
> 
> 1) Would you like to read more full length fluffy dates?  
> 2) Should I make a side pairing of Shiro/Matt?  
> 3) Should I write a full chapter from Lance's POV?  
> 4) Do you want smut?
> 
> Let me know what you want guys as well as how you liked this chapter! Thanks for reading!! <33


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, addressing the end notes of last chapter. 
> 
> 1) There will 100% be more fluffy dates  
> 2) Shatt is going to happen. Some people didn't want to too prominent so it didn't clutter up this Klance fic. I personally want a lot of Shatt so i'm making a spinoff fic for Shatt and just hinting at it in this fic.  
> 3) Next chapter will be from Lance's POV. I don't know if I'll do anymore full chapters from his POV in the future though? That has yet to be determined.  
> 4) Smut will not happen in this fic. There will be some foreplay for a plot point, but nothing that goes too far. I personally don't like smut and it seams the majority of you guys like this fic without it anyways. However, there may be follow up oneshots where I include smut, and the Shatt fic will 100% have smut!
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who gave their opinions! I really want to make a fic that everyone really loves! <3

Keith looked over at Shiro for some sort of reaction, watching as the other boy put his book down and got up. He smiled kindly down at Keith, almost proud, and pulled him into a hug.

Keith smiled to himself. He knew Shiro would accept this about him. He’d been the one encouraging it afterall, but it still felt good to know 100% that Shiro was okay with this, happy for him even. “I’m proud of you.”

That sort of confused him, “Proud of me… for being gay?” That made absolutely no sense.

Shiro chuckled a bit, “No. Proud of you for admitting that about yourself. Proud of you for opening yourself up to something like this. I’m extremely proud of you for pushing past this barrier in your life. You’re always so focussed on the past Keith. This is your first step towards the future and I just feel honoured that I get to witness it.”

God… Shiro was being so cheesy and so dad-like and Keith thought he might just be on the verge of tears. He hugs him back, burrowing his face into the other boy’s chest, “Thanks Shiro….” He didn’t know what else to say but Shiro sort of summed it up perfectly. After all he’s been through, this really does feel like the first step towards the future.

He pulled away and smiled up at Shiro, “I um… so do you still want to hear how it went?”

Shiro nodded and they went to Keith’s room, sitting in the bean bag chairs as Keith talked about the date, leaving out a few of the more embarrassing details, he didn’t feel like being laughed at when it was…. He checked his phone, about midnight.

Besides the time of night flashed a bunch of messages from both Pidge and Lance on his phone's home screen. He’d just been with Lance not too long ago so he was really curious as to what it was about.

“Earth to Keith? You still there?”He looked up at Shiro, realizing he must’ve been lost in thought. Shiro smirked, “Is it your boyfriend?”

Keith blushed a bit, “He’s not my boyfriend…”

Shiro simply shrugged, “Not yet. So what’s your ‘not boyfriend’ messaging you about?”

Keith shrugged, “Dunno. I can wait till morning.” He glanced down at his phone, wondering if he’d be done with his chat early enough to be able to message Lance before he goes to bed.

Shiro shakes his head and gets up, “I can wait till morning to hear the rest of the details. You can’t wait. Go ahead and talk to your boyfriend. Say hi to him for me.”

Keith groaned, “He’s not my boyfriend!”

Shiro chuckled, “Not yet.”

Keith couldn’t really respond to that because…. He was right. With the way things were going it was only a matter of time. That thought made him extremely nervous even though it probably shouldn’t. He pushed it to the side for now, opening up his phone to see what the two had texted him.

He clicked on Lance’s name to find a whole string of messages. They’d been apart for less than an hour, he couldn’t imagine what it was about.

(23:58) Blue: Just got home! Thanks for coming out with me tonight.

(23:59) Blue: <3

(00:03) Blue: HOLY SHIT!!! DID YOU SEE???

(00:04) Blue: If you didn’t check the Voltron website!

(00:04) Blue: You’re an artist right? You should enter the contest!

(00:05) Blue: I haven’t seen your artwork but I’m sure you’ll win!!

(00:08) Blue: I already messaged the others, sleepover at Pidge’s on Friday night!

(00:09) Blue: That way we can all read the new update together!!

Keith put down his phone and grabbed his laptop, bringing up his website and sure enough, there it was. It was a simple news letter saying there’d be an update to his website on Friday night that would include an art contest and a whole bunch of new content.

He really needed to finish making those character profiles

He pulled out his phone again to see more texts.

(00:10) Blue: What sort of new content do you think they’ll add?

He may as well cater to the fans with this.

(00:11) What sort of things would you like to see?

(00:11) Blue: EVERYTHING!!!

(00:12) Blue: But no, really, wouldn’t it be great if we could get some back story or some sort of extra info on the characters?

(00:13) Blue: I want my headcanons to become canon.

(00:13) Blue: Though the idea of posting more character info is really nerve wracking because what if the author says they’re all straight?

(00:14) Blue: Then Blue/Red will never be canon!

Keith chuckled a bit. Lance was sort of cute when he was all hyped up like this. He would definitely include sexualities in this then… except Red. Red was supposed to represent him but… he didn’t know his own sexuality. He’d said he was gay to Shiro, and he definitely liked Lance but… he was pretty sure he’d liked girls in the past as well. Or at least he’d dated girls. It all sort of confused him so he’d leave Red’s sexual orientation blank and leave it up to the fans imaginations. But Lance…. Blue would be bi for sure.

(00:15) Whatever will be will be

(00:15) But I think Blue being bi isn’t a far stretch

(00:16) Blue: Ya! I’m excited

(00:17) Blue: So yur down for the sleepover right?

(00:18) Blue: Hunk will bring all the junk food from the con so it’ll be awesome!

(00:18) Wouldn’t miss it

(00:19) Blue: Bring Shiro too!

(00:19) Blue: If you want?

(00:20) Sounds good. Sure Pidge’s okay if I come too?

Just at that moment he figured maybe he should check what Pidge had sent him earlier so he scrolled through their messages.

(19:21) Rocket: Posted the update online. It was really brief but that fans are already going crazy in the forum.

(19:50) Rocket: If you need me to come over tomorrow and help read over your drafts or anything, let me know.

(20:37) Rocket: I basically have the website done and designed. I included the merch page with big bold lettering ‘coming soon’ since we don’t have any stock yet.

(20:38) Rocket: I know we discussed you having a couple T-shirt designs by Friday, but I’m thinking we can wait off

(20:40) Rocket: Since you’re already overwhelmed by the character profiles as well as probably completing this weeks update.

Shit… he was almost done the character profiles but he hadn’t even started this weeks update. He should really start doing extra updates ahead of time so he had something completed to post on weeks that he’s busier.

(22:37) Rocket: Your date must be going really well! Be prepared to be teased mercilessly.

(23:52) Rocket: Hosting a Voltron sleepover Friday!

(23:53) Rocket: You better come! And bring your red lion onesie!

(00:17) I don’t have a red lion onesie.

(00:20) Rocket: Oh…. you should change that

(00:20) Rocket: Hold on, I know that person who makes them

(00:21) Rocket: What’s your size? Maybe we’ll add these to your merch store?

(00:21) You really don’t need to do that.

(00:22) Rocket: Already ordered!

(00:22) How did you find my size?

(00:23) Rocket: That’s for me to know and for you to never find out.

(00:23) My brother?

(00:24) Rocket: mmaaaayyyyybbbeeeeeeee

He wasn’t sure how to respond from here so he switch back over to texting with Lance. He also wasn’t really good at texting two people at once, it was really hard to keep track of and he didn’t know how other people did it.

(00:21) Blue: Ya I’m sure!

(00:25) Just talked to them as well

(00:25) Guess i’ll see you there?

(00:26) Blue: We can meet before then if you want?

(00:27) Blue: No pressure

(00:27) Blue: It was just a suggestion

(00:28) I’d love to but I’m busy

(00:28) Blue: Anything I can help with?

(00:29) Not really. No

He really didn’t want Lance to think he was blowing him off, but he really wouldn’t be able to hang out with him anytime soon. He had to get these profiles drawn nicely by Friday as well as he wanted to make a cool fighting scene banner for the top of the website. Then he’d need more of Saturday and Sunday to get the next update done.

Maybe if he gave Lance a day to hang out he’d reassure him a bit more. He didn’t want Lance to think he was second guessing anything, but he also didn’t want Lance to know he wrote Voltron.

Honestly, he probably wouldn’t care if Lance wasn’t so obsessed with it. He was flattered but it was almost like he worshipped the very ground the author walked on and he didn’t want Lance to treat him differently. He liked how things were and coming out as the author would mess things up when he didn’t even know what things were yet.

(00:30) Blue: wanna hang out this weekend?

(00:33) How about next week? Monday? I’ll take you out after school?

(00:34) Are you asking me out on a date?

Keith took a deep breath, wondering if that impulsive question had been such a good idea.

(00:35) Ya. That’s the idea.

(00:36) Blue: I think I’d love that! Let’s meet after school! What school you going to?

(00:37) A place called Forest Heights?

He’d transferred foster homes just after the school year ended so he really didn’t know anything about this school, not even how to get there. Shiro was going to drive him.

(00:37) Blue: THAT’S MY SCHOOL!!!!

(00:38) Blue: You’re definitely eating lunch with us

(00:38) Blue: Let’s meet early before school and I’ll show you where all your classes are!

Keith couldn’t help but smile. One of his biggest fears about coming to this school was that he’d be the weird new kid going into his grade 12th year with no friends. He guessed he didn’t have to worry about that anymore.

(00:39) Sure.

(00:40) Blue: School starts at 8:30 so try to be there by 7:45! I’ll meet you at the flagpole out front?

Ugh, 7:45? Which means he had to be ready by 7:30. This was not going to be fun. He was really going to miss summer.

(00:41) Sounds good

(00:42) Blue: and I know the perfect cafe to go to after school!

(00:42) Blue: You’ll love it!

(00:43) As long as I get to pay.

(00:43) I’M taking YOU out after all

(00:44) Blue: Sounds good, can’t wait!

(00:44) Blue: You don’t know where Pidge’s house is, do you?

(00:45) Not really

(00:45) Blue: I’ll pick you up beforehand and we can walk over together for the sleepover okay?

(00:46) sounds good.

(00:47) Blue: I’ll pick you up around 6

(00:48) Blue: anyways… hate to leave you babe but I need my beautyrest

(00:48) Blue: I know I’m already gorgeous but I have a routine ;)

(00:49) Blue: though I’m sure you’re gorgeous with or without beautyrest

(00:50) Night Lance

(00:50) Blue: Night babe! <3

(00:55) <3

Keith smiled and set his laptop aside then collapsed in bed, gazing up at the ceiling. He wondered what Aiden would think of him now. What he’d say about this and what advice he’d have to give. It’d been so long since he’d thought of his first foster brother but after mentioning it briefly to Lance, those memories were starting to come back.

Strangely, it wasn’t the bad memories though. There were so many horrible memories from that household but one thing stuck with him, something Aiden said once. _Sometimes you’ve just got to accept you for you. Even when no one else does._

It almost felt like those words were completely reversed for him. Everyone else seemed to accept him for anything he wanted to be. So why couldn’t he accept it? Why couldn’t he fully accept his feeling for Lance? Why did he keep having so many doubts?

Question after question flew through his head with no answer as he drifted off to sleep.

The next few days he spent getting the profiles done, and even managed to finish up the banner and send it off to Pidge Friday afternoon, spending the rest of the day getting ready for their sleepover.

He wasn’t sure what to bring so he ended up just getting some Pj’s, toiletries, and a spare set of clothes for tomorrow. His brother was at his part time job so he wouldn’t be joining them till later. Once packed up he just sat down and got to work on the next page in his webcomic.

He had just finished the lineart when there was a ring on the door. He checked himself in the mirror, clothes looked good, hair was a mess but not completely awful, smile well… he just wouldn’t smile. It wasn’t a strong suit of his.

_Why did he care so much???_

He walked down stairs, bag slung over his shoulder, and opened the door to see Lance standing there, beautiful as always. “H-hey.” he stuttered out. W _ay to be smooth Keith. What’s with you? You go on one date and now you’re a blubbering mess?_

Lance grinned easily, “Hey yourself. So you gonna invite me in?”

Keith nodded and gestured for Lance to come inside, “Yeah. Sure. Shouldn’t we head over to Pidge’s place?”

Lance shrugged, “Or we could hang here and make out for a while.”

Keith felt his mouth hang open and stared in utter shock, “W-what!?!”

Lance burst into a small fit of laughter, “Dude. I’m kidding. Relax.” He put his hand on Keith’s shoulder and gave him a comforting smile, “I’m all for taking things slow okay? Though it’s not like we haven’t done that before.”

Keith nodded and blushed a deep red, looking away from him, “ Um… yeah sure.” When he composed himself a bit he looked at Lance and gave him a soft smile, “Thanks Lance.”

Lance shrugged, “No problem. So anyways, what’d you pack?”

Keith shrugs, “Pj’s, toothbrush, and spare clothes for tomorrow. Why?”

Lance gasped, “Nothing for pranks? No sharpie or shaving cream?”

Keith looked at him critically, “No. I’m not 10.”

Lance shook his head, “Keith, Keith, Keith. Pranks are for everyone, not just 10 year olds. But fine, if you want to play it that way, how ‘bout stuff for truth or dare? A little extra to spice things up!”

Keith crossed his arms and gave him a deadpanned look, “Truth or dare is for 15 year old girls who want an excuse to kiss their crush. Last time I checked we’re not 15, and you could kiss your crush anytime you liked. Unless I’m not the person you're crushing on and then I’m sorely mistaken.”

Lance smirked and walked closer to Keith, invading his personal space, “Anytime I want?”

Keith tried to play it smooth and shrugged nonchalantly, “Within reason.”

Lance smiled down at him and leaned in, murmuring softly, his breath ghosting Keith’s lips, “Is now within reason.”

Keith murmured back, finding the nerve to look into Lance’s eyes, his beautiful blue eyes, “Is it?” he responded playfully. That’s all it took for Lance to close his eyes and close the gap.

There was nothing that could have prepared him for this. Kissing Lance drunk was wild and passionate and amazing. Kissing him sobor was much more sensual.

Lance cupped his face, tilting it slightly so their lips moulded together. His fingers moved from his cheek to his hair, running his hands through the messy locks. His lips were soft. They moved in tandem with his own.

Keiths hands ran up Lance’s chest and wrapped around his neck, pulling him down, closer, so their bodies were pressed together.

Lance was so soft, so gentle, so patient. After kissing like this for a while, he swiped his tongue across Keith’s lips, asking for permission which Keith willingly gave him.

Lance’s tongue felt weird in his mouth, but not unpleasant. It traced his teeth, explored his mouth, entangled with his tongue and made every one of his senses go wild. Keith couldn’t believe he was doing this. He never thought he’d be kissing a boy like this, especially sobor. One thought passed through his mind before everything was completely consumed by the other boy.

_This felt right._

Lance was so tender but Keith was getting impatient. He raked his hands along Lance’s back. Turning up the heat a bit. He shoved Lance against the closest wall, breaking their kiss momentarily.

Lance stared back at him wide eyed but before he could respond Keith was on him, attacking his lips and sucking Lance’s tongue into his mouth, hands roaming the other boy’s body. _God he craved this._ He’s never wanted someone so bad in his life. It was like a switch was flipped in his mind the very moment their lips met.

Lance reacted to this and tugged at Keith’s hair, hard enough that he had to break the kiss and look Lance in the eye. Lance took this moment to flip them and started attacking his neck instead, nipping and licking and sucking at the sensitive skin. Keith let out a light moan, God Lance really knew how to use his mouth. It all felt so good. He was overwhelmed with the pleasure of the moment.

Lance’s hands moved down his body and up his shirt until they skimmed his nipples and Keith froze.

_Okay, yeah he started this, but now it was a bit too much._ He pushed Lance off of him, maybe a bit too roughly and Lance stood their looking at him worriedly. “Did I do something wrong?”

Now Keith felt a bit bad because Lance was the one willing to keep things tame and here Keith had turned up the heat and Lance was feeling guilty about it.

He walked towards Lance and brought him in for another gentle kiss then murmured against his lips, “It’s fine. Just… please don’t touch me beneath the clothes… not yet at least.” He pulled away and gave him a reassuring smile when he noticed Lance still looking a bit worried he added, “It’s seriously fine Lance. Don’t worry about it too much okay?” He grabbed Lance hand, “Why don’t we head out now okay?”

Lance looked at him, as if searching to see if he was being honest before he nodded and an easy smile returned to his face, “Yeah. Sounds good.”

They each grabbed their bags and walked over to Pidge’s place. Lance grabbing Keith’s hands and interlacing their fingers on the way.

It was a short walk but Keith couldn’t help but smile. Lance’s hand was warm and fit perfectly in his own. He reluctantly pulled his hand away from Lance when they approached what he assumed was Pidge’s door. He honestly just didn’t feel like the teasing they were bound to get from Pidge, and Lance didn’t question his actions, to which Keith was grateful.

To Keith’s surprise, Lance didn’t knock and instead just opened the door and chucked off his shoes. Keith followed suit, albite a bit hesitantly.

“Shouldn’t we have knocked?” he asked skeptically and Lance shrugged in response.

“We could, but it wouldn’t do anything” Lance started walking through the house and Keith followed nervously, feeling like he’s intruding.

“And why’s that?”

Lance responded lazily, “Because they never answer the door. The theory in the Holts household is that anyone worth seeing can just walk in. If the front door’s locked, it means that you’re not allowed in and if it’s open it’s free to anyone.”

Keith looks at him strangely, “Wouldn’t that make them really prone to being robbed? That can’t be safe. What if Pidge is alone and someone dangerous walks in?”

Lance chuckled a bit, “Trust me. No one would want to mess with that little gremlin. I’m pretty sure a mafia boss could come trouncing through their house and Pidge would send them out running for the hills.”

Keith looked at him skeptically, “Um… somehow I doubt that.”

Lance smirked back at Keith, “You want to test that theory?”

Something in his eyes made Keith realize that no, no he most definitely didn’t want to test that theory. “I’m good.”

Lance laughed again and led him to a door, “Good choice. So here we are. Pidge’s room. Prepare yourself.”

Keith didn’t know what he expected exactly, but this definitely seemed like a Pidge-like room. It was a perfect combination of the old and new. It was a mess of every piece of technology you could imagine, and large shelves of books occupying every free wall. A wide screen TV took up the majority of the far wall with basically every gaming system you could imagine hooked up to it. Keith was in awe, and there in the middle of the room was Pidge and Hunk playing Mario Kart.

Pidge paused the game, having heard them come in and turned around grinning devilishly, “Well are you two just gonna stand there or are you gonna come let me kick your ass’s.”

Video games were Keith’s turf. He smirked and was already making his way to claim a remote, “We’ll see who kicks whose ass.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow and handed him a remote, “That a challenge?”

Keith took the remote and sat on the bed, facing the screen, “Challenge? Not really. I don’t take you for much of a challenge.”

Lance chimed in, “You’re right. They’re not. I’m actually the reigning Mario Kart champion!”

Pidge chuckled a bit devilishly, “Not for long! I’ve been practicing!” Lance grabbed his remote as well.

Lance grinned, “Hey Keith, if you’re so good then show me how you do on Rainbow Road. That’ll be the true judge of things.”

Hunk rolled his eyes, clearly used to this and just letting them go on and enjoy their trash talk.

Keith smirked, “Sure.”

Pidge chimed in, “Prepare to lose.”

Keith just smiled knowingly and didn’t respond. He’d just let his kart do the talking.

They played for a while and Lance and Pidge called him a demon incarnate when he never fell off Rainbow Road even once. He won by a landslide and declared himself the Mario Kart champion. That was until they played their next track and Lance ended up winning.

They went back and forth like this for an hour, Keith winning one, then Lance, which inevitably ended in a tie when the pizza arrived.

Keith stood up from his spot on the bed, pulling Lance up from the floor. “You were pretty good.”

Lance smirked, “You weren’t too bad yourself.” Lance stared at him for a moment before leaning down and kissing Keith gently, making his heart flutter. Then proceeded to drag him out the door and into the livingroom where an older clone of Pidge was already sitting, chomping down on some pizza.

The boy stood up and held out his hand towards Keith, “You must be Pidge’s new friend. I’m their older brother. Nice to meet you.”

He took his pizza grease covered hand tentatively and shook, “uh… you too.”

His grip on his hand increased as he leaned in murmuring threateningly, “You better not pull anything with them. They’re only 15.”

Keith practically choked on air there, “W-what?’

Lance stepped in and pulled Keith away from . “No worries. This one’s mine.” He pulled Keith in and kissed him again.

_Mine._ That played in his head and he really, really liked it. He didn’t know why but the idea of Lance being possessive over him made him really happy.

Matt looked at him skeptically, “You sure? Because they’ve been hanging out with Keith a lot these past few days and they’ve been talking about him a lot.”

It’s all due to Pidge helping with his website and him being the author of Voltron, but he couldn’t tell Matt that. It was really nice knowing that Pidge literally told no one his secret though not even their brother.

He shrugged, “I have a friend who needed a website set up for them and I was tasked with figuring things out so I recruited Pidge to help me.” The half lie rolled easily off his tongue.

Matt nodded, “Ah. That makes more sense. Threat still stands. Don’t try anything with them.”

Keith nodded, “Of course not….” he looked at Lance and then blushed a bit, “I’m sort of taken so you really don’t need to worry.”

_Was that okay to say?_ He didn’t know. They’d only been on one date with plans for a second. Lance had said that Keith was ‘his’ though. So was that okay? He felt an arm wrap around his waist and he sighed in relief and blushed a bit more.

He looked over at Lance to see him beaming at , “Yup! He’s 100% taken.”

Before anything more could be said Pidge yelled from the other room, “Oy lovebirds! Come in here and get some pizza before Hunk eats it all!”

“Hey! I wouldn’t eat it all. I was definitely going to leave a few slices for them!” Hunk immediately responded

Lance chuckled a bit, “That’s our cue I guess?” then he led Keith into the kitchen, not letting go of him till he needed to grab some pizza.

Keith grabbed a slice of his own before he was swiftly swept aside by Pidge, “Okay. We need to create a distraction so I can show you the completed website before I launch it. We still have time to make a couple adjustments if need be.”

Keith had been curious about how the website came out so he found himself nodding along, “Yeah, sounds good. But what sort of distraction.”

Just then they heard a knock on the door and Hunk went to get it, “More pizza?” but when he opened the door it was Shiro and Keith found himself grinning. _Perfect._

Shiro waved at the group and asked, “Hey Hunk, can I come in?”

Surprisingly it was Matt who was immediately on his feet and heading over to welcome Shiro in, “Hey Shiro, long time no see. I didn’t know you knew Pidge.”

Shiro’s face lit up and he gave Matt a genuine smile, “Yeah. She’s friends with my brother’s Keith. I came over to make sure they didn’t get into too much trouble.”

Matt nods, “Ah. So, Keith’s your brother? We'll make sure to keep him in line.”

Shiro chuckles a bit, “Just not a straight line.” He winks at Keith and Keith found himself blushing all over again. Time to change the subject and sneak away with Pidge.

He went up to his brother and grinned, “Hey Shiro, so I was thinking while you're here, maybe you could help Lance with some armour cosplay tips and such.”

Lance immediately perked up at this, “Yes please!” he said with a full mouth of pizza. If was kind of gross but his enthusiasm was adorable.

This led Shiro into borrowing Matt’s computer to show Lance diagrams and schematics about building mecha cosplays. Hunk was enthralled by the lighting components and Matt seemed to be chiming in about how it would be possible to add in robotic components. It made for the perfect opportunity for him and Pidge to sneak away.

They went off to Pidge’s room and they opened their laptop to show the website. It was brilliantly designed, super sleek, and artwork he’d forgotten he’d posted in the past littered parts of the page. He grinned widely, “This looks awesome Pidge!”

Pidge smiled proudly, “Thanks! Anything you want changed before we go live?”

Keith examined it for a moment, navigating the website and examining the graphics, “Could you maybe re-position the banner a bit? And switch the graphics here and here.” He pointed to two pictures that he thought might be more effective swapped.

There was a bunch of little changes they ended up making. Pidge noticing a few new things as well with the extra set of eyes. They didn’t notice when someone else’s presence suddenly appeared behind them, way too enthralled in their work.

Hunks voice radiated from right behind them and the two turned around and stared in shock, “What are you two up to?”

Pidge immediately tried to cover up the screen behind them but they were far too short to do so effectively. “Nothing!”

It was clear Hunk didn’t believe them and was already reading the screen. His eyes went wide, “Is that Voltron’s new website?? But it’s not gonna be launched till later tonight! Did you hack into the servers? But you said you wouldn't do something like that with Voltron involved? And why’s Keith here!!!?” All these questions were buzzing around in Hunk’s brain. He clearly didn’t know what to make of this and Keith didn’t want to say anything out loud, but Hunk was Lance’s best friend, and he really didn’t want him to say anything to Lance.

“Don’t tell Lance!!” He stood up and covered his the computer screen and looked at Hunk seriously.

“Don’t tell him what exactly? That Pidge hacked the website before it was launched or…” His eyes grew wider as he stared at Keith, “You’re the creator of Voltron aren't you!!!”

Keith was in panic mode. _Shit why did he say anything?_ He knew he should have stayed quiet. “Yeah. I am. Just… don’t tell Lance okay? Or anyone. I prefer to stay anonymous.” Hunk seemed like a good guy. He didn’t know him much but he always seemed really kind and he hoped he’d keep this a secret. He could’ve lied just now but then Hunk would’ve taken his speculation to Lance and he risk that.

“IT’S AN HONOUR TO MEET YOU!!” He bowed and Keith wasn’t exactly sure how to respond.

He looked at the boy a bit worried that Lance might’ve heard, “Um… you met me last weekend at the con too, it’s no big deal. And can you keep your voice down, I really don’t want Lance to hear.”

Hunk stood up again and grinned widely, grabbing his hand and shaking it like Keith hadn’t said anything at all, “No seriously! It’s great to meet you! Or amazing? Yeah, I think amazing is a more appropriate word. I relate to Yellow so much. Like… that crepe he made out of nothing but golden goo looked amazing! I’d like to think I’d be able to replicate it given the chance.”

Pidge elbowed Hunk in the side to get him to shut up, “Hunk! I know this is cool but don’t overwhelm him. You’ll have plenty of time to talk to Keith about Voltron later. He is going to our school after all.”

Hunk looked at him wide eyed, “The creator of Voltron is going to my school?!” He gasped, “The creator of Voltron is dating my best friend! I have to tell Lance!” He gets up to tell Lance but both Keith and Pidge use their combined strength to hold him back.

Keith clings to Hunk. He couldn’t let the other boy tell Lance, “You can’t tell him. You can’t tell anyone!” Then he added as an afterthought, “ And we’re not exactly dating yet…”

Hunk stopped and turned around to look at Keith, “If you want to date Lance wouldn’t it make sense to tell him though? I’m sure he’d be thrilled! You’re the author of Voltron! He idolizes you! We all do!”

Keith shook his head and sighed, “That’s the problem. I don’t want you to idolize me. It took you all of 2 seconds to start treating me differently, and Lance is even more Voltron obsessed than you. I don’t want him to start treating me differently. We’ve only been on one date, and I really like him. If I told him now, it would ruin everything.”

Hunk stopped and nodded, “Okay… I guess I can see how his obsession might become a problem, but what if he finds out anyways? I think he’d be hurt if he found out you didn’t tell him.”

Keith sighs, “I’m sure I’ll tell him eventually. But not now. Just promise me you won’t tell him okay?” He looks at Hunk seriously, trying to convey his feelings about this whole thing.

Hunk sighs and nods, “Okay but… can I ask you some questions about Yellow?”

Keith nodded nervously, “Uh yeah, sure, but just text them to me. For now I bet Lance is wondering where we all went.”

Pidge set a timer on the webpage so it would automatically launch at 10:00 then turned off the computer and, as if on cue, Lance came up the stairs in exaggerated hysterics, “Where were you all? Why did you leave me like that? You left me with my hero and I honestly thought I was going to faint I was so starstruck. I couldn’t pay attention to anything he said!”

Keith rolled his eyes and walked over to him, “Should I be jealous?”

Lance chuckled a bit and wrapped his arms around the other boy’s waist, pulling him in close, “Trust me, you have nothing to be jealous over babe. I only have eyes for you.”

Keith leaned in close and murmured, “Good.” Then pulled away from Lance without kissing him.

Lance stared after him pouting a bit, “That’s hardly fair! Don’t I get a kiss or something?”

Keith chuckled a bit, “You think you deserve a kiss for ogling my brother? Really?” he shook his head.

Lance gasped, “I didn’t ogle your brother!”

Pidge chuckled a bit, “At least not here. He has Shiro prints literally all over his room.”

Lance gasped, “Piiiidddggggeeee how could you?!”

Keith knew that Lance liked him but he couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous. Lance was completely perfect. Kind, loyal, seriously hot. He was so many things and what did he even have to offer? He was ‘emo’, and wasn’t good with feelings. He still didn’t fully know how to react to the whole dating a guy thing but he was playing along well enough. He still didn’t know if this was what he wanted. He thought he wanted Lance but… Lance would be better with someone like Shiro. Shiro was another one of the most incredible people he knew, and they were both big cosplayers. They would be better together.

Lance looked at Keith in concern, “Hey? Keith? You seem to be thinking really hard there. You don’t have to worry about it okay? I just admire Shiro.”

Keith looks at Lance and nods slowly, “Yeah I know.” He figured there was no point in saying anything, but when Lance realized he wanted to be with Shiro and not him, he’d step aside. Maybe he should step aside now and save himself the heartache.

Lance looked at him skeptically before cupping Keiths face in his hands and tilting his chin up so their eyes would meet, “Don’t over think things Keith. You’re the one I like okay?”

The scary thing was that Keith was starting to believe that. With all his doubts and insecurities, Lance had been nothing but loyal. He leaned in and kissed him gently, “Yeah. Okay. Thank you.”

Lance searched his face as if to make sure that Keith had fully accepted his words before nodding and taking his hand, “Now let’s go back downstairs. Matt’s setting up the TV, we’re gonna go watch Sharknado!”

Keith made a face, “Why would anyone subject themselves to that?”

Hunk chuckles a bit, “It’s just a group thing. It’s fun to watch bad movies.”

Pidge grins, “We just like to make fun of them, unless you're Lance. Lance genuinely loves Sharknado.”

Lance gasped, “Of course I do Pidge! How could you not? Sharks are amazing! And tornados are cool! Which makes Sharknado amazing!”

Keith couldn’t help but laugh, “I’ll take your word for it. I’ve actually never seen it, all I know is that it sounds awful.”

Lance grins widely, “Then you’re in for a real treat!” He wrapped an arm around Keith and they went downstairs, breaking into Hunk’s stash of candy to watch what proceeded to be the best worst movie Keith had ever seen. He thought it was adorable how much Lance genuinely loved it.

At 9:50 a timer went off and they stopped the movie so that they could pull up the Voltron website on the TV. Keith groaned, “Are you guys seriously that curious about how a new website is going to look?”

Lance nodded eagerly, “Yes Keith! It’s important! This is a huge step! And you should be eager about the contest as well, since you’re an artist!”

Keith chuckles a bit, “Whatever you say Lance.”

They waited there for the website to be launched and went immediately into checking it out. Everyone was excited about the fact that there’d soon be merch, and a forum so people could interact more with the author, but what got everyone really going was the character profiles.

Upon seeing Blue’s profile Lance broke into a huge grin, “Holy shit! Keith! You see that! Blue is Bisexual! Like me! Which means him and Red could actually become a thing! Ugh I wish the author put what Red’s sexuality was as well! I guess they must’ve forgotten, but this is amazing!! I always said Blue would be bi and probably get together with Red, but I didn’t actually believe it. The author honestly seems to be writing all the characters super straight and hasn’t bothered much with romance. Now that I know the author’s open to making each character so distinct, I kind of respect them even more.”

Keith grins, “Yeah. I think Blue being bi just works.”

Pidge elbows Keith a bit, “I think Red and Blue would make a seriously cute couple though.”

Keith blushes a bit, “Yeah… I think so too.” Keith watches Lance continue obsessing over the profiles, getting everyone hyped up for the update that he had barely started. First thing tomorrow he’d work on the page. The current arc was almost done and well… maybe as a climax he’d get Red and Blue together. _Maybe._

But that’s fully dependant on him and Lance and if things continue to go well because, Red was made to represent him, and now he saw Blue as Lance. So if him and Lance get together, it’d only make sense if his characters did too. Plus, it’d make Lance really happy.

After Lance was done obsessing they continued watching bad movies until they got tired. Lance tried to convince Keith to pull out some of the pranks he got but Keith didn’t feel like getting involved with that at the moment, and Lance seemed content to just cuddle into Keith instead. Holding Lance in his arms while watching bad movies was one of the most incredibly embarrassing and just generally outstanding experiences he’s had in his lives.

After the movie they decided on sleeping locations. Shiro was taking the coach, Pidge was obviously sleeping in their bed and the other 3 were supposed to take the floor but Keith had never been to a sleepover before and didn’t exactly clue into the fact that he was supposed to bring a sleeping bag for just this reason.

Luckily Lance had a solution to that problem, offering to share his own. That’s how he found himself curled up next to Lance in the corner of Pidge’s room. It was cramped having two people in the sleeping bag, but comfortable.

Lance smiled down at him as Keith snuggled closer to him, “Comfortable?”

Keith hummed in respond as he wrapped his arms around the other boy. He was so warm and comfortable. He’s never really been this close to anyone before. He’d noticed Lance was really big on physical affection, and although he wasn’t used to it, he was very much enjoying it, “Very.”

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith and seemed to be very content, “I hope Red and Blue do get together.”

Keith chuckled a bit, “This again? I know you do. Everyone knows you do.”

“Yeah. I know. But I mean… then our Red and Blue cosplay is official couples cosplay material.” Lance paused a moment then added, “and I kind of see us as Red and Blue y’know? Or I want to. I know this is all new. It’s just starting and I don’t even know what it is yet but…. I’d like to think it’s something special. Someday I want our bond to be like Red and Blue’s. Something truly incredible.”

Keith blushed but found himself following each of Lance’s words and adding in a few of his own, “Yeah. Me too. I think someday we’ll definitely become as close as Red and Blue already are. Maybe even closer.” He felt himself slowly drifting off to sleep.

Lance smiled and pressed a gentle kiss into his hair. “Definitely.”

And with that promise, Keith felt himself entering the realm of sleep, Lance invading every single one of his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Your comments always mean so much to me! Every time I see one it keeps me motivated to write! So comments are very much appreciated! <3


	10. Chapter 10

Lance woke up and immediately knew something was wrong. He knew better than to open his eyes, instead listening to the voices around him, “Do you think he’ll notice?”

“Not right away!”

“I’m definitely gonna need to record his reaction when he wakes up!” That voice was definitely Pidge. He must be in some really embarrassing, compromising position for Pidge to be readying their camera.

Shit.

Then an angel spoke through the crowd - an angel known as his future boyfriend Keith, “You sure it’s okay to be doing this.”

Pidge responded immediately, “Absolutely!”

And now that he was waking up a bit more, he was beginning to recognize the other voices around him. “Oh yeah, normally Lance’s the one to pull this sort of thing, he deserves it.” That was Hunk. _Traitor!_

Keith chuckles a bit, “Okay if you’re sure. It’s actually sort of funny!”

First his best friend, _now_ his future boyfriend? They’re all betraying him! Maybe he should just bite the bullet and open his eyes. Face whatever inevitable end he had ahead of him.

He opened his eyes and they all shuffled back. They’d previously been swarming him. Lance glanced to the side where his bag had been. It was unzipped. _Great. Just great. Now he had to figure out just which one of his pranks they’d played while he was sleeping…._

He sat up and felt his face, pulling his hands away and then coming out clean. What were they up to? What did they do? He looked at each one of their waiting faces and stated calmly, “Whatever you did, you’re not gonna get a reaction out of me.”

Pidge smirked. Oh god, he hated when they smirked, “Who said we did anything?”

Keith chuckled a bit then mirrored their smirk, shrugging a bit, “Yeah. We didn’t do anything.”

Lance groaned, “And they got you in on it Keith?? I thought you liked me!!?”

Keith chuckled a bit, “I do.”

Those words alone momentarily distracted him from the tragedy at hand. Keith liked him. Though he sort of knew that, but it was always nice hearing it. That being said… “If you really liked me you wouldn’t be encouraging that little gremlin!” he turned to Hunk, “And you! I thought you were my best friend! How could you!” He put his back hand over his forehead and laid back down in his bag and sighed melodramatically, “I feel betrayed.”

He stayed there a moment, waiting for someone to take pity on him but no one did. Instead they just stayed there staring at him, Pidge having their phone out. He sat up again, “Okay let’s see the damage. Does somebody have a mirror?” He figured it was probably your classic magic marker mustache and unibrow. He could wash that off well enough, especially if they were using the brand he bought.

Pidge shrugged, “I think the only one girly enough to have a hand held mirror is you here Lance.”

Lance rolled his eyes, “Exactly. And you guys clearly went through my bag so hand it over!”

Pidge simply tossed him his bag. He caught it and cautiously opened the thing, half thinking something might pop out, but nothing did. He grabbed his compact and opened it up, checking himself thoroughly in the mirror. Nothing.

He didn’t trust this. He got up and ran to the bathroom, looking himself up and down. He looked normal. They’d been standing around him laughing so there had to be something.

He spent the rest of the morning trying to figure out what they’d done. He even went so far as to have Pidge eat the first bite of his pancakes to make sure they weren’t poisoned.

Eventually he came to a very solid conclusion. The prank was that there was no prank at all. He’d been scrambling around all morning, wasting time, for nothing. That evil genius Pidge. He’d definitely pay them back for this.

At this point he was all too conscious of the fact that he’d skipped out on his morning skin and body care rituals. _Damn Pidge_. Maybe the prank was that she wanted him to look ugly and smell gross in front of Keith. That seemed like a Pidge thing to do.

He sighed and grabbed his toiletries bag. He’d wear a nice facial and work on his skin tonight. He didn’t want to be away from Keith that long so he’d just have a quick shower now. Keith mentioned he couldn’t stay very long today and Lance didn’t want to waste even a moment with him.

He took his shower, making sure to wash and lather well. _You never know when Keith might want to run his fingers through his silky hair so it was best to be prepared with only the highest quality conditioner._

He stepped out of the shower and dried his body then looked for a hair dryer. There was none. _No wonder the Holt’s hairstyles were always so messy. Those savages._

Lance gave up and decided to dry it as best he could with the towel, then check out his beautiful appearance in the mirror before he’d be ready to head out and impress Keith!

Upon looking in the mirror, Lance totally did _NOT_ let out and extremely manly scream.

His hair was blue. _BLUE!_ He felt like he was gonna faint.

He could hear cackling on the other side of the door and Lance wrapped a towel around his waist, storming out and crossing his arms, glaring daggers at Pidge, “BLUE!!! MY HAIR IS BLUE!!!”

Pidge smirked, “Yup! You only have yourself to blame!”

Lance squawked indignantly, “How is this MY fault! You’re clearly the one who did this! Somehow? HOW DID YOU DO THIS!”

Pidge chuckled a bit, “Replaced the substance in your conditioner with blue hair dye. Blue hair dye that YOU brought in your pranking bag. So technically it’s your fault.”

They replaced his conditioner? “Please tell me you put my conditioner into a separate container. It’s okay right?”

Keith stared at him incredulously, “That’s what you’re concerned about?”

Lance rolled his eyes, “It is VERY expensive conditioner okay? I had it imported!”

Pidge looked at him right in the eye, “Then you shouldn’t have brought it over for one of my sleepovers. You should’ve known what you were getting yourself into.”

Lance fell to his knees, “That’s a good $100 that I’m never getting back… and on top of that my hair’s a wreck and I don’t have enough money left to buy some more dye…”

Keith crouched down next to him, “Um… if it helps any, I think blue suits you? Brings out your eyes.” Keith blushes a bit and Lance finds himself perking up at that. _God! How is Keith’s surprising smile so damn intoxicating._

He leans up so their faces were centimeters away from each other, “Does it?”

Keith doesn’t move away. He just noticeably gulps and nods, “Y-yeah.”

Lance grins mischievously, “And you like my eyes?”

Keith nods and stutters again, blushing a bit, “Y-yeah.”

Holy shit this guy could go from hot as hell to completely adorable in 2 seconds flat. How could a guy like Keith even exist? He’s too perfect for words. “Mmm well maybe this hairstyle isn’t such a disaster after all then.”

He spends a moment staring at Keith, appreciating him. His dark eyes almost purple on closer inspection keep flickering between the light bouncing out the window and his irresistible lips. Lance smirks and closes the gap between them, kissing him very gently.

Keith’s response is immediate. He takes the initiative to tilt his head and deepen the kiss. What was intended to be just a sweet chaste kiss is now being turned into something a bit more intense.

“Gross. Can you guys not be completely sickening in my house?” They pull away and look up to see Pidge staring down at them along with Hunk, who seemed to be frozen mid-snacking in recognition of the spectacle they made of themselves.

Keith flushed a deep red, clearly uncomfortable but Lance just stood up and took it all in stride, “Whatever happened to _mi casa es tu casa_? Hm? You always said I could treat this place like another home. A home away from home?”

Pidge made a face, “Yeah well I’m pretty sure your _Abuela_ would not want to bare witness to that and neither do I. If you want to do that, there’s a broom closet down the hall that you’re free to use. Just make sure to disinfect it afterwards.”

Keith crouched their mouth open, clearly shocked and not likely to respond anytime soon. Lance smirked, “I’ll have to remember that. Keith?”

Keith stood up, seaming to recover a bit, “I am NOT making out in a broom closet.”

Lance groaned, “Come oonnnn Keeeiiittthhhhh! It’s really hot! They do it in all the movies!”

Keith rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, “What movies do you watch? Cuz I can’t remember a single one where they actually do that.”

Pidge chimed in, clearly just to embarrass him further, “Pornos”

Lance gasped, shaking his head immediately, “I do not Pidge!”

Pidge gave him a look and he sighed, “Okay. I do. But I’m a red blooded teenage guy! Of course I watch porn! Who doesn’t?”

Pidge raised their hand, “I don’t.”

Keith smirked and added, “Neither do I.” And the two proceeded to share a high five.

Lance groaned, “That’s because you two aren't normal!”

“Normal is boring!” Pidge was quick to respond.

A look that Lance didn’t recognize crossed Keith’s face and it might be better for him to change the subject now. “Anyways, I was referring to romcoms! Lot’s of romcoms have makeout closet scenes!”

Keith rolled his eyes, “Well I’m still not gonna make out in a closet. If you want to do that you should probably find another victim.” he paused then added, “Good luck finding one with that hair though.”

Lance groaned, “I thought you said it looked good!”

Keith smirked, “Yeah, but I’m biased.”

_Damn it… does Keith even know how weak his words made Lance?_ He met Keith’s eyes and smiled a bit, “And why’s that?”

Keith shrugged, “Cuz I like you. Obviously. I already told you that.”

Lance still loved hearing him say that. The hair thing sucked, but the Keith thing was amazing. So he’d deal with it.

Keith eyed him up and down then smirked, “So as much as I’m sure we all love seeing you half naked in the middle of the hall, you should probably go and get changed.”

He put a hand on his hip and ran the other one through his hair, “Like what you see?”

Keith hummed in appreciation, “Just as much as I like the rest of you.”

Lance blushed a bit at this. _God Keith was cute_. If positions were reversed his eyes would be drinking in the rest of Keith’s body and blatantly staring, but Keith’s attention seemed to be more fixated on his eyes. There was something almost poetic about that, after all they say the eyes are the window to the soul.

Lance rolled his eyes, “You must like it a whole lot then.”

He winks at the other boy and Keith blushes responding with a simple, “I really do.”

His heart couldn’t take this anymore. This boy was slowly stabbing him with each word. Keith was too much for him. Too cute. He was done. Dead. Finished. “Fine. My clothes are in Pidge’s room so I’ll just change there.”

Pidge was quick to add, “While you’re in there don’t touch anything with your nasty! I don’t want Lance germs all over the place… again.”

Lance gasped and put a hand to his chest, “Pidge. How could you?! Nothing about me could ever be nasty.”

Pidge looked at Lance completely unimpressed, “Really? Do I need to remind you of that one ti--”

He covered their mouth before they could say anything else. Keith did not need to know about the time Pidge walked in on him _well…_ ‘taking care’ of things. It was awkward on all accounts and Lance did not want that humiliation to be brought to the surface.

It was back from the days Lance had a tiny crush on Matt and had caught Matt walking around shirtless, and nobody was in Pidge’s room. Pidge wasn’t even home at the time, but that’s besides the point. Pidge ended up coming home and walking into their room with Lance there doing his thing, and Lance will never EVER be able to live that down.

“It was nothing! There is no ‘one time’ so don’t you dare ask them about it Keith! I’ll be out in a minute! Two minutes tops!” He rushed into his room, hoping Keith wouldn’t get the full embarrassing story from Pidge. He’d already been embarrassed enough in front of Keith He didn’t need that humiliation to be added to the list.

Lance came out dressed to impressed and Keith followed him with his eyes, but not in the hungry way like he’d hoped, more in a slightly horrified way with an equally horrified expression, “DAMNIT PIDGE!!!”

He chased after them and they immediately booked it down the hall and out the front door. There was no doubt in his mind that they told Keith what had happened. That little gremlin would get it.

Unfortunately they wouldn’t get it anytime soon because unlike some people, Lance was civilized. Civilized enough not to ruin his clean socks by running outside without shoes. He was mad, but not that mad. So he didn’t give further chase and went back upstairs to salvage whatever pride he had left.

He saw Keith again in front of him. Hunk seemed to have been comforting him from whatever Pidge said. They must’ve told Keith more than just the story because he seemed in complete shock.

He walked up to the two nervously, “H-hey. So…. what exactly did Pidge say?”

Hunk gave him a nervous grin, “N-nothing really? No big deal right Keith?”

Hunk was a terrible liar, Keith was slightly better when he responded with, “Yeah. no biggie.”

His voice might’ve been smooth but his face was still a bit paler than it normally was and that’s saying something. “You’re both terrible liars. Whatever Pidge said was a lie too. Though you guys might not’ve been able to tell a truth from a lie with them. They’re probably the best liar I know.”

Keith paused a moment, looking like he wanted to say something.

Lance really didn’t want Keith feeling uncomfortable around him so he gave him a reassuring smile, “You can tell me what they told you y’know? May as well get accurate information directly from the source.”

Keith took a deep breath before saying, “Is it true that you mastur--”

Lance groaned and yelled out, “DAMNIT PIDGE THAT WAS ONE TIME!”

Keith shut up and looked slightly taken aback so Lance calmed down a bit then groaned in frustration, “Is that all they said?”

Keith shifted from one foot to the next, “She um… also may have mentioned that you had a pretty elaborate sex life.”

Oh. So that’s what he was panicked about. “That’s what I tell Pidge so they don’t try and set up a video recorder in my room. If they knew that my life was fairly pg they’d spy on my 24/7. That lie I told them is all about self preservation. So don’t worry about it.”

He put a hand on Keiths shoulder and tried to give him a comforting smile. Keith seemed to relax considerably then added, “So… You’ve never had sex then?”

Lance found himself blushing a bit. “Well… That’s a whole other question.” He had always been proud of the fact that he wasn’t a virgin, but something about Keith’s hesitance made him hesitant. but he was asked a question so he owed Keith an answer, “Well… no. I had sex with my last girlfriend. But um… never with a guy? If that helps?” He didn’t know what Keith wanted. Did he just want to feel special or something? Because even if Keith wouldn’t be his first, he was definitely special! And if they had sex it’d be his first guy.

Keith gave him a nervous smile and Lance felt like shit. What was he supposed to make of all this? Had he done something wrong? It wasn’t like he was asking for sex right now or anything.

Bottom line was, Keith being nervous was making him nervous.

Keith finally spoke up, “I’ve honestly never thought about sex.”

Never thought about sex? Keith was human right? Not some alien? How could a human never think about sex? Whatever, he’d probably think about it more when he was actually in a relationship. “No worries! No big deal!”

Pidge decides to take that moment to reappear, “Not everyone’s as big of a horn dog as Lance is!” They practically cackled.

Lance rolls his eyes, “I’m a perfect gentleman! And anyways Keith, you know I‘d never force you to do anything you didn’t want to right? I like you. Sex is basically a bonus to any relationship, but it’s not a necessity. I figure we’ll just take everything at your pace.”

Keith nodded and gave him a much less forced smile, “Thanks Lance. I’m… not ready for that sort of thing.”

Lance nods, “Yeah, besides, we’re not even dating yet. We’re just figuring things out.”

Keith nods along with his words and responds a bit solemnly, “Yeah. I guess that’s true...” He let his voice trail off.

Lance noticed the dampening of Keith’s mood but chooses not to comment on it. He’s already made his intentions clear to Keith. He figures if the other boy actually wants to be in a relationship with him he’ll speak up and tell him.

That being said, this whole thing made him nervous. Normally he was Mr. Flirtatious. Ladies man or mans man, he was good at flirting, but Keith was confusing and he didn’t know how to approach him or what to do. He was always so scared he’d mess things up and Keith would lose all interest.

He wasn’t used to feeling so insecure.

He was used to rejection, and expecting rejection. It didn’t phase him anymore, but the idea of Keith rejecting him devastated him. He’d barely known the boy for a week and already he just fit in so well with his life. He didn’t want to mess this up, not when it just worked so well.

He’d never felt so right just being with another person.

Lance took Keith’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly, hoping to calm his nerves. He figured he’d change the subject while he was at it, “Let’s just enjoy the rest of the morning hm? Let’s do something?”

Keith smiled a bit, first staring down at their hands then back up at Lance’s face, “Actually it’s afternoon now.”

Lance pulled out his phone and wondered how it had ever become 1:00. “So it is…”

Then Keith chimed in again, “And I have stuff I need to do at home.”

Lance sighed, he had really wanted to spend a bit more time with Lance, but he supposed it couldn’t really be helped. “Yeah. Okay.”

Keith gave his hand a little squeeze this time and it made his heart happy. “You can walk me if you like?”

He looked down at Keith, giving him an easy smile, “Yeah. Sounds good to me!”

Keith added, “Even if it is only a couple blocks away.”

Lance shrugged, “I’ll take any time with you that I can. Whether that be 5 minutes or 5 hours.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “Maybe I should go get Shiro to come along as well.”

Lance shrugged, “Last I heard he was busy catching up with Matt or something. Besides, he’d ruin the romantic atmosphere.”

Keith chuckled a bit, “What romantic atmosphere? I’m pretty sure Pidge ruined that.”

Lance was only now realizing that at some point during their conversation, Pidge and Hunk had made their own escape. He dragged him along, hoping to avoid those two and keep what remaining romance there was alive. “The one we’re making right now of course!”

Keith chimed in, “I should at least say by to the others!”

Lance brushed him off, “I’ll do that for you later. Who knows where they are, and you said you needed to get home right?”

Keith sighs, “Yeah okay. And mention me leaving without saying a proper goodbye is completely your fault.”

Lance nodded, “Sounds good! I think I can live with that if it means some extra moments alone with you.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “Weirdo.” But he didn’t pull away and was smiling. He loved making Keith smile.

He only let Keith go to put on his shoes, then he was back to grabbing Keith’s hand and walking him home like a perfect gentleman, swinging their hands between them.

Keith commented passively, “Is it really necessary for you to swing our hands like this?”

Lance beamed widely, “Yup!”

Keith chuckled a bit, “Why?”

Lance continued swinging their intertwined hands, “Because. It made you laugh, and now it’s making you smile.”

Keith immediately stopped smiling, as if to make a point, and Lance groaned in frustration, “Keeeiiittthhhhhh!!! Smile! Like this!” Lance makes the widest grin he could manage and Keith chuckles a bit, smiling again.

Lance stopped and examined him, almost like the almighty judge of smiles. “Not bad. But you need to show more teeth.”

Keith opened his mouth and presented a solid mix between a toothy smile and a grimace then muttered between his teeth, “Like this?”

Lance burst into a fit of laughter, _oh god when Keith was trying to smile he looked so awkward._ “Yes. Only not at all!”

Keith pulled his hand away from Lance’s and crossed his arms, now pouting a bit, “You were the one who said I should smile.”

Lance rolled his eyes and tried to kiss the pout off his face, “And it was adorable.”

Keith gave him the stink eye, “You laughed.”

Lance smirked, “Adorably funny!”

Keith groaned, “I’m going home.”

Lance followed along and went to take Keith’s hand again but Keith pulled it away from him, “Nope! You’ve lost all hand holding privileges!”

It was Lance’s turn to pout, “But--”

Keith interjected immediately, “No buts! This is your own doing!”

Lance pouted and followed along beside Keith. It wasn’t long before Keith took his hand again, looking away from him and probably blushing like the completely adorable boy he was.

They got to Keith’s house all too soon. He stared at him and smiled a bit, “You sure we can’t hang out longer? Maybe we could have lunch together? I’m actually really hungry.” His stomach rumbled as if on cue and Keith chuckled a bit and looked up at him.

“Sorry Lance. I really have to finish this, and I have a feeling that if I don’t go inside I won’t get anything done.”

Lance sighed, “Fine. What do you have to get done anyways?”

There was a brief pause, “Um… just stuff for school. Refresher notes and stuff. Each school district teaches things slightly differently.”

Lance perks up, “I did great in my classes last year! I could totally help you!”

Keith gave him a look, “Pidge says otherwise.”

_Busted._

Lance sighs, “Yeah okay. Fine. It just sucks that I won’t get to see you again before school starts up.”

Keith chuckles a bit and rolls his eyes, “It’s two days Lance, I think you can manage.”

Lance was about to say something else before Keith promptly shut him up by laying a gentle kiss on his cheek and adding, “I’ll text you! And don’t forget we need to meet early so you can show me around.”

He brought his hand up to the spot Keith kissed him. Keith was way too cute. That was the sweetest, most adorable thing this boy had ever done.

Lance stood there for a moment, mesmerized, just staring after Keith and smiling. Then he turned around and started walking back to Pidge’s house.

A guy could really fall in love with a boy like Keith around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised~ Lance's POV!
> 
> Also, I posted the first chapter of my Shatt fic last week. I will eventually be weaving the two fics together but in the first few chapters it'll be a few years back!
> 
> I really hope you liked this chapter, it was a lot of fun to write and I might be trying to write from Lance's POV more often if you guys like it? I'd also love to hear what you thought of this chapter? I was really nervous to write a full chapter from Lance's POV!


	11. Chapter 11

Keith woke up and groaned as the lights filtered in through his bare windows. _Where’d the drapes go?_ He turned over on his side and _ah, that’s where._ He threw a pillow at Shiro and murmured groggily, “Go away.”

Shiro chuckled a bit, “You’re going to be late for your first day of school.”

Keith mumbled, “Then I’ll be late. Leave.”

Shiro responded simply with, “Didn’t you promise your boyfriend you’d meet him there early?

He reluctantly sat up, glaring daggers at Shiro. Way to bring Lance into this… He was not at all a morning person. “He’s not my boyfriend…” Then added in a low murmur, “Yet.” He threw another pillow at Shiro, “now leave!”

Shiro finally let go of the drapes; the sun no longer blinding him. He held up his hands in surrender and backed out of the room, “Don’t kill me. These were _your_ plans.” Shiro added as he left, just loud enough for Keith to hear, “You’d think I’d get some appreciation around here for being a good brother, but no, all I get is uncalled for sass.”

Keith rolled his eyes. Now Shiro was being as dramatic as Lance… _but still,_ he’d have to thank Shiro later. He’d set his alarm on his phone for 30 minutes ago and he was only now getting up.

He groaned. He had to leave the house in 15 minutes if he wanted to get there on time. He forced himself out of bed, threw on one of the new ‘Lance approved’ outfits, and went to brush his teeth.

After getting the basics out of the way he grabbed his bag, his lunch, and headed out the door. He knew he should probably eat, but it was too early for that. He should still be sleeping.

Regardless he arrived at the flagpole at exactly 7:45 and smiled a bit upon seeing Lance already there, peppy and perfect looking blue hair and all. He wondered if it would be uncalled for to ask for a good morning kiss.

He stopped that thought in its tracks and looked around. Even though there wasn’t anyone in sight it made him uncomfortable. _What if someone saw? What would happen then?_ There was a reason he was always alone. He didn’t want to stand out, to be criticized, put down, cast out. To be hurt.

It was better if they kept whatever this was a secret from the world. Other people didn’t need to know about his personal life anyways.

Keith gave Lance a slight wave and Lance pulled him into a hug. Keith tentatively hugging him back before pulling away, “You’re awfully affectionate for 7:45 in the morning…”

Lance gave him a grin that was too bright for this early in the morning, “That’s because I get to see you again! I missed you!”

Keith gave him a deadpanned look, “It’s been two days.”

Lance chuckled a bit, “Exactly! And it’s been two days too many! Now come on! I’ll show you around!” He linked their arms together and started dragging Keith inside, Keith simply rolled his eyes and followed him willingly.

Lance proceeded to show him the front office, cafeteria, then guided him to the different rooms he had classes in this semester. He started introducing him to the different teachers. It was weird how Lance could just talk to people of authority so casually, but then again, this was Lance.

Keith ended up giving each of the teachers a nervous smile and just let Lance do the talking. He planned to have as little interaction with them as possible. The only time he chimed in during the tour was when they reached the art teacher's room.

He smiled at the cement walls splattered with paint and the easel stands set up all around the room. He supposed the first unit would be painting. He hoped he’d be allowed to do some watercolour art, that was easily his favourite art form next to digital.

He turned towards the art teacher, stumbling through an introduction before turning his attention back to Lance who was already gazing at him with a soft expression. Keith blushed a light red and murmured, “Do I have something on my face?”

Lance nodded, smiling a bit more, “Yeah. Just a smile. It’s the first one I’ve seen from you today and it looks really good on you.”

Keith blushed a bit more and turned away from Lance, distracting himself with the art room, though currently there wasn’t much to look at since it was the first day of class and no one had any art drying quite yet.

It was soon time for class and Lance led him to his homeroom before stopping and turning towards him, “You sure you’re gonna be okay here?”

Keith rolled his eyes, “I think I can manage it.”

Lance looked at him skeptically, “You sure? Because most of the kids here have known each other forever.”

Keith chuckled a bit, “I’m not stranger to being the new kid Lance.”

Lance sighs, “Yeah but you also used to dress like a slob. Now you’re dressed to impress and have me by your side. You’re no longer the new loner kid, you’re the new hot kid. So you better watch out. Don’t get involved in the wrong crowds. Remember us little guys when you're famous.”

Keith blushes a bit, “I’m pretty sure you’re the only one who's going to find me hot.”

Lance shook his head, “No way. I already saw so many people stop and stare at us as we walked by. I’m old news by now. They were clearly staring at how hot you are.”

Keith smirked, “Or maybe they were staring at your blue hair?”

Lance groaned, “Oh yeah… I was trying to forget about that.”

Keith chuckled a bit, “How could you forget about it? According to Pidge you check your reflection in the mirror at least twenty times a day.”

“That’s why I intentionally left my pocket mirror at home.”

Keith smiles a bit, “You’re such a dork.”

Lance nods, “And proud of it!” He leaned against the doorframe and stared at Keith flirtatiously, doing a complete 180 on the gaze he was previously giving him. “Does this dork get a goodbye kiss? I’ll also let it double as a thank you kiss, and good morning kiss. Just because I’m feeling generous.”

Lance leaned in a bit and Keith froze. _In front of everything?_ He covered Lance’s mouth with his hand and pushed him away gently, giving him what he hoped to be a playful smile, “Get to class Lance,” and he entered a bit self consciously.

He felt bad about pushing Lance away, especially since he really did like Lance, but he couldn’t do that. Not in front of everyone. He went to the back of the class, put in his earbuds, and started sketching some future chapter ideas in his notebook, waiting for the class to begin.

He was halfway into the second song when someone tapped him on the shoulder, he looked up and saw Pidge take a seat next to him. He took out his headphones and looked at the curiously. “Aren't you like…. Fifteen?”

Pidge smirked, “Yeah? What’s that have to do with anything?”

He looked at her skeptically, “This is a grade twelve advanced math class.”

Pidge shrugged, “And your saying grade ten’s can’t take it?”

He stared at her exasperatedly, “Pidge. It’s in the name. This is a grade twelve class. You’re in grade ten. The numbers don’t add up.”

Pidge rolled their eyes, “I got special permission from the principal. I want to graduate with the rest of you.”

Keith stared at her in awe, “So you’re actually that smart?”

Pidge smirked, “mhm. Just wait, you’ll be asking me to tutor you within the first 3 months.”

Keith shook his head, “That’s not going to happen. I’m actually pretty smart.”

Pidge shrugged, “You might be smart, but this teacher’s the hardest in the school and this class has a 50% fail rate.”

Keith gasped at them, “What? 50%? Is that legal?”

Pidge shrugged, “Supposedly. Now, if you don’t mind, it’s starting. I don’t want to miss anything the teacher says. Even the smallest details might be on her tests.”

Keith nodded and faced the front, not really worried about passing. He’d always been naturally gifted, but more worried about keeping up with Pidge. He wasn’t normally that competitive, but something about losing to a fifteen year old didn’t sit right with him. It would hurt his ego too much.

He ended up having his next advanced English class with Pidge too. This kid was definitely some sort of prodigy, but it was nice to not just be that one new loner kid in class.

Pidge elbowed him to get his attention while they walked to their next class, “So Keefers? We haven’t exactly talked about how you’re feeling about Lance.”

Keith shrugged, “We’re going on another date tonight.”

Pidge sighed, “That doesn’t exactly answer the question.”

Keith sighed, “He’s great… I really like him Pidge. I didn’t think I would but I do.” He may as well be completely honest about this. He needed to say this out loud to someone and he knew that Pidge wouldn’t go around sharing this with just anyone.

“I’ve dated before, but that was more for my foster parents at the time, not me. So Lance is different. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before and I’m terrified of these feelings. They’re confusing and make no sense. I don’t know what to do with them.”

Pidge gave him a look, “Well for starters, why not ask Lance out?”

Keith blushed a bit, “I did. We’re going for coffee after school today.”

Pidge rolled their eyes, “I mean ask him to be your boyfriend.”

Keith nodded.. yeah. He wanted to but he wasn’t sure he could be the one to take that step. “Thanks Rocket. Maybe I’ll do that.” But he knew he couldn’t. He didn’t have it in him to officially ask Lance. Hopefully Lance would ask him instead.

They went to class but didn’t really learn much. It was the first day after all and soon it was time for lunch. Keith was grateful he had Pidge there to guide him back to the cafeteria then to their normal eating location, located under the stairs in the school basement.

Keith had just grabbed fries and a coke, not particularly hungry. It wasn’t long before he heard loud footsteps approach and Lance’s whiny voice saying, “Everyone was staring at me Hunk! Everyone! And not in the good _‘holy shit you're super hot’_ kinda way! It was in the, _‘what the hell did you do to your hair’_ way!”

Hunk laughed nervously, “Hey buddy, cheer up. I heard a lot of people thought it was cool.”

Lance sighed dramatically, “Cool! Not cute!”

Keith watched them walk down the stairs and Keith couldn’t help but chuckle a bit, “I mean. If it helps I definitely think you're cute.”

Lance spotted Keith and grinned, “Yeah? Then I guess that’s all that matters!”

He walked towards Keith and sat down next to him, “But you’re supposed to be the cool mysterious bad boy transfer student and I’m supposed to be the cute charming guy! We’re supposed to be opposite personalities that come together to form the perfect power couple! And now that imagery is all ruined!”

Keith chuckled a bit, _wow, Lance had really thought this all through,_ though he didn’t really see the appeal.

_Wait. Power couple?_

Keith looked at Lance nervously and decided to voice his concerns, “Um… what? Power couple?” He didn’t like the idea of being so open about their relationship when they actually started properly going out.

Lanced nodded confidently then stopped in his tracks and flushed a deep red, “S-sorry I just. I mean. We’ve only been on one date so I guess I’m getting ahead of myself...” His voice drifted off and Keith figured he should say something but he wasn’t quite sure what. He was seriously bad at this.

Pidge decided to save Keith from having to respond, to which he was extremely grateful, “Anyways, how are your classes Lance?”

Lance groaned, “Don’t get me started! I have the worst luck with classes! Someone got Mrs. Gardener again for English and she’s the _worst!!_ I’m telling you, she has it out for me! She’s just trying to ruin my life!”

Pidge rolled their eyes, “I don’t think she’d be like that if you didn’t goof off in her class all the time.”

Lance groaned, “But how can you not? The way she teaches is so boring!!”

They continued like this for the rest of lunch period, Keith chiming in only when strictly necessary. It was really nice. He’d never had this before.

#

Lance seemed to carry the majority of the lunchtime conversation, which was a normal occurrence, but he kind of wished Keith would speak up a bit more. He wondered if his comment from earlier had bothered him that much?

Sure, they’d been on a date, and were going on another. Keith seemed to like him, hopefully a lot, but the moment he mentioned the words ‘couple’ he froze. Did he not want to date him?

He smiled throughout lunch, but his mind stayed on Keith, feeling confused and trying to figure things out.

Soon it was time to head to class. He was grateful for when last period came because gym class was quite possibly his favourite subject. It didn’t require thinking and gave him time to clear his head. At least that’s what he thought until a certain someone entered the changeroom and his perspective changed.

Keith flashed him a shy smile upon entering the changeroom and Lance didn’t know if this was a blessing or a curse. “Hey Keith. Didn’t think we’d have any classes together.”

Keith raised an eyebrow at him, “I showed you my schedule this morning Lance.”

_Oh yeah. He had, hadn’t he?_ That being said, Lance hadn’t checked his own schedule until the first bell ring so it didn’t really sink in that they’d be sharing this. “Oh yeah! Must’ve not noticed…”

Keith chuckled a bit and rolled his eyes then began changing. He stripped off his shirt and Lance couldn’t help but stare a bit. _Damn._ He had a nice tone to his muscles. He wasn’t super buff or anything, but it was clear that he at least hit the gym a couple times a week. Probably with Shiro, that man was a beast.

Keith looked at Lance out of the corner of his eye, some other guys filing into the changeroom around them but he paid no mind to them as Keith smirked at him, murmuring in a nice low tone, “Like what you see?”

Lance blushed slightly as the words from a couple days ago were thrown back in his face. He wasn’t about to back down though. He flashed Keith a charming smile, “Just as much as I like the rest of you.”

Keith smiled back at him. His cheeks turning a light rosy colour that was absolutely adorable on him. “So you like me?”

Lance couldn’t help but smile at the other boy, almost giddy. Everytime he felt insecure about things Keith would say something like this and it would all feel okay again. He’d feel like this was actually going to work out between them. He’d fallen for so deeply for this boy in front of him. Keith should be arrested for stealing his heart like this. “Yeah. I do. A lot.” He went in to kiss him but Keith’s eyes widened in panic and he pulled back, breaking the moment.

He’d never seen anyone get changed so quickly as Keith threw on his gym clothes and bolted out the door.

Rolo came up to him, placing a hand on his bare shoulder, “New crush?”

Lance nodded a bit, “Yeah.”

Rolo shook his head, “Don’t get your hopes up too high Lance. He seemed pretty freaked out there. He might not be into guys. Or you.”

Lance sighed, “I don’t think that’s the problem. It’s something else because he keeps giving me mixed signals.”

Rolo pulls his hand away to finish changing, “Well I’m rooting for you Lance. Who knows, if he’s giving you mixed signals, maybe he just doesn’t like PDA?”

Lances nodded, “Yeah. Maybe.” He sighed and finished changing as well then went out to join the others. First unit was basketball and he was pretty tall and very athletic so he showed off a bit. You had to stay in shape for cosplay after all so his muscles were ready to push themselves to the limits and fire at 120% the entire class.

He honestly hoped that a certain someone would be impressed by his abilities. Showing bouts of stamina was important in any relationship. Though that skill probably wouldn’t come into play for a long time, but it might eventually be needed and Lance wanted to show that physically, he was up to the challenge.

After class he got distracted by his changing not-boyfriend again. He ended up being the last one out of the changeroom and was surprised when Keith was waiting outside for him. “What are you doing here?”

Keith looked both ways then rolled his eyes, chuckling a bit, “We have a date. Remember? You were gonna show me that coffee shop, and I was gonna treat you?”

Lance sighed in relief, “Oh… yeah.” He gave Keith an easy smile, “Sounds good!” He took Keiths hand and squeezed it a bit as they headed out towards the main hallway. The moment they were in the more crowded hallway, Keith pulled his hand away like he’d just been burned.

_Yeah. definitely mixed signals._

#

Keith hoped Lance wasn’t reading into things too much. He was just scared. Scared what people would say about him, about them. _Would they get kicked out of school like Aiden had been? Would they be made fun of? Ostracized?_

His mind wandered back to Aiden. He hadn’t been kicked out of school as much as pulled out of school. He wasn’t allowed to leave the house. He was homeschooled and kept apart. After the incident, Keith got to see first hand what happened when you were gay in Texas. He’d assumed it was the same everywhere but apparently not. This friends group seemed really accepting, but the rest of the school might not be.

He didn’t want to risk it.

So he let go of Lance’s hand, hoping Lance would understand where he was coming from. He gave Lance a little smile, “So um… Which way?”

Lance gave him a confused smile back and simply pointed to the left, “Follow me.” he lead them outside and down a few blocks before coming to a small plaza and leading him to the corner coffee shop.

It was nice. It had a miss mash of chairs and couches that seemingly had no order to them. Everywhere that there wasn’t a chair of table. There were piles of books to the point where there was only a thin path to the counter and a maze of paths to all the chairs. This place was completely cluttered but there was also something homely about it that made him smile.

Lance led him up the the counter, “I’ll have a Caramel Macchiato. How about you Keith?”

Keith looked at the menu. Everything seemed so fancy. “I’ll have a coffee.”

The woman behind the counter smiled at him, “What size?”

“Medium.”

“And what would you like in it?”

“Black.”

Lance was the first to chime in, “Boreing!”

Keith shot him a look, “Not everyone likes an excess of sugar like you! What even is a Caramel Macchiato?”

Lance grinned, “Delicious! That’s what it is!!”

Keith rolled his eyes and paid for the drinks, “I’ll take your word for it.”

Lance chuckled a bit, “Maybe if you’re nice I’ll let you have a sip.” Just as he said that the barista brought them their drinks.

Keith took one look at Lance’s drink and made a face, “I think I’ll pass. I don’t want to get a cavity.” He could practically smell the sugar. Keith was not a fan.

Lance chuckled a bit, “Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say Keefers!”

Keith groaned, “Have you been talking to Pidge?”

Lance chuckled a bit and led him to a couch in the back corner of the cafe, “Always! Conversations with them are never boring!”

Keith groaned, “Yeah. Tell me about it. Well as long as they haven’t said too much about me…” He let his voice trail off and Lance picked up on it.

“Oh? Then do you have something you're hiding from me? Something you don’t want me to know?” He looked at Keith curiously and sipped his sugary monstrosity.

Keith chuckled a bit and shook his head, Yes. “Not really. Nothing more embarrassing than that video of you hanging from a tree.”

Lance’s jaw dropped, “WHAT?? You actually saw the video?!?”

Keith smirked, “Yup. Pidge handed it to me on a usb.”

Lance groaned, “Okay what on earth did you trade for that dirt? They don’t trade that stuff lightly.”

Keith chuckled a bit, “Not gonna tell you.” He figured it might be a good time to change the subject, “So what did you think of the latest Voltron update?”

For Lance, it was like a switch went off in his brain. His eyes lit up and he gave Keith an enthusiastic smile, “It was incredible! It was shorter than normal but so sweet, and I think the author’s really leading something up between Red and Blue! You know how before I said that Blue and Red were definitely gonna get together. Well it seriously looks like They’re definitely gonna get together! Don’t you think?”

Keith chuckles a bit, “It certainly looks that way, doesn’t it?”

Lance nodded excitedly, “Yeah! Blue asked to talk with Red alone!!” he groaned in frustration, “Uuugghhhh why do we have to wait a whole week to see what they say? I want to know now!!!”

Keith chuckled a bit, “Depending on the size of the update, you might have to wait two weeks.”

Lance groaned again, “Oh yeah. This must be the first week of school for the author as well… updates will be shorter till summer again. I hate this.”

Keith shrugged, “You’ll live. Anyways, at least the Blue-Red relationship looks promising hm?”

Lance grins widely, “That’s true. But not as promising as the Lance-Keith relationship.”

Lance wink at him and Keith found himself blushing again, just slightly, “Uh… yeah. That’s true.” God he didn’t know what to say or how to respond to that.

In that moment a blonde haired girl with pigtails ran over to them, and planted herself in front of Lance, hands on her hips and smiling widely, “Hey Lance!”

Lance turned to face her and gave the girl a nervous smile, “Hey Nyma.”

Her expression brightened a bit, “I thought that was you! I wasn’t sure because of the hair and stuff. It looks good on you.”

It was clear she was trying to flirt with Lance and Keith couldn’t exactly say anything without giving his position away, so he just kept quiet.

Lance loosened up a bit, giving this Nyma girl an easy smile, “You think? I was planning to dye it back to normal, but if you think it looks that good maybe I’ll keep it.” His eyes flickered to Keith then back to Nyma.

Was Lance flirting with her? Right in front of him? On _their_ date?

Nyma looked over at Keith, “So who’s this cutie?”

Lance met Keith’s eyes, clearly trying to figure something out before simply responding, “This is Keith. He’s new here.”

Nyma smiled at him, “Nice to meet you Keith.” Then turned straight back to Lance, “So I heard you and Lindsey broke up at the beginning of the summer? You seeing anyone right now?”

Lance looked back over at Keith then back at Nyma before responding, “Well… um…”

Keith cut him off mid sentence, “Yeah. He is. We’re on a date so you can just back off.” he was surprised by himself. _What had he just done?_ It certainly came out more aggressive than he intended it to, but he was pretty annoyed. This was their date and he really didn’t like some girl flirting with Lance.

Lance smirked, “Yup. You heard the guy.”

Nyma raised an eyebrow at him, “So you’re his boyfriend?”

Keith found himself blushing a bit more but meeting her gaze, refusing to back down. “Yeah. I am. Got a problem with that?”

Nyma just smiled in a sickly sweet way, “Not really. But Lance, when you two break up I have next dibs!” She winked at him and walked away. Keith glaring at her as she did so.

Keith scowled, “Who does she think she is? _When_ we break up? Who says we’re going to break up!” He looked back at Lance to see the other boy beaming at him

He blushed a deep red, “Why are you so happy all of a sudden? Don’t tell me you’re actually think of taking her up on that offer!!!” He normally wouldn’t be so vocal about things, but he was pissed.

Lance smiled kindly and replied simply, “You said I was your boyfriend.”

Keith stopped mid scowl and put his face in his hands. _Shit._ He did say that. “So what if I did?” he mumbled, peaking at Lance between his fingers, feeling embarrassed by this whole thing. He’d basically outed himself to what was probably one of their classmates, not that she seemed to care about how gay the whole thing was. More importantly he’d called Lance his boyfriend when they hadn’t exactly talked about that yet but he thought that’s what they were moving towards. _Was he wrong?_

Lance took Keith’s hands in his own and away from his face, looking at him adoringly, “I’m really happy.”

Keith took a deep breath. Maybe he _should_ be the one to make the first move this time, “Lance… I know it’s a bit late but, will you be my boyfriend?” He heart pounded in his chest. He never thought he’d ever hear those words coming from his own mouth.

_A boyfriend? Him?_ Why did he even bother asking? He wasn’t good enough for Lance. Not even slightly.

Lance’s smile widened and he leaned over, cupping Keiths face in his hands and gazing into his eyes. “Of course I will.” He leaned in and kissed him. Keith immediately kissing back, shifting his position on the couch so he could wrap his arms around the other boy’s neck.

When they pulled away he found himself gazing into Lance’s eyes, for a change not really caring who saw them. He was far too distracted by the blue boy before him.

He wondered if this was normal? For the world outside of Lance to fade away. For his heart to fill up and beat faster. Feeling content. Special. Wanted. Lance had said yes. Lance wanted to be with him.

_Someone wanted him._

He wasn’t alone.

He kissed Lance again, closing his eyes and losing himself in the slight contact. The warmth and the love that was thrown into the warm press of his lips.

Lance was his boyfriend and he had never been so happy in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to finals(since I'm a University student) there most likely won't be a chapter next week, but expect one the week following! And I do have a Hunk oneshot that addresses the original plan Razzle Dazzle from chapter 8 that I'll be posting next week(since it's already written) So you can look forwards to that!
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter! I have finally figured out what direction I'm taking this fic so I'm happy as to where this is leading and I hope you all are too! Thanks for reading! <3


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spanish translations are in the end notes! 
> 
> It's good to be done exams and to be posting again! I hope you guys enjoyed that Shay/Hunk oneshot? It should help give a bit of definition to the side characters of tis fic and tells you more about plan Razzle Dazzle from chapter 8!

Keith was on cloud nine. His week had been completely consumed by his new boyfriend and he was loving it.

When he wasn’t with his boyfriend, he was thinking about him, and when he wasn’t thinking about him, he was working on his next webcomic update. One that was sure to make Lance happy. He wanted to see his face light up when Red and Blue got together. Or at least when they confessed. He figured he’d cut it off there for the week.

“Hey Keith.” He was broken from his thoughts by Shiro. Shiro who was giving him a knowing look.

Keith put down his artist tablet, “Hey Shiro…” He let his voice drift off, not quite sure what to expect. Shiro walked across the room and sat down on the other beanbag chair. “So.”

Keith looked at him skeptically, “So?”

“You’ve been gone an awful lot lately.”

Keith hummed in agreement, “Yeah.”

“Spending time with your boyfriend?”

_What was Shiro getting at?_ Of course he was, it wasn’t like he was exactly hiding it… at least not from his foster family. “Yeah? And my other friends. I’m not one of those guys who let their entire life be dictated by one person. I have a life.”

Shiro chuckled a bit and rolled his eyes, “If I knew that all it’d take was a boyfriend to help you get a social life, I would've set you up with someone a long time ago.”

Keith groaned, “Shiiirrrrooooo. If you’re only here to tease me then I’m busy you should just go.”

Shiro tried to sneak a peek at what he was working on and Keith pulled the screen away. Shiro raised an eyebrow at him, “New update?”

Keith sighed, he normally showed Shiro his updates before he posted them anyways, so that clearly wasn’t it, “Not exactly.”

Shiro smirked, “Oh? What is it then?”

Keith relented and showed him the picture. It was a drawing of red and blue sitting up in a treehouse with a picnic basket, gazing out at the stars. He put a lot more details and layers into this drawing than he did for his webcomic but it was unmistakably his art style.

Shiro smiled softly at Keith, “You know if he saw this he’d know immediately right?”

Keith shrugged, “He won’t. I already told him I based my art style off Voltron, so he’ll just think I’m good at being a copycat. He wanted me to draw him in this art style though… and he looks exactly like blue. And I look like Red. I thought he’d appreciate this.”

Shiro smiled fondly at him, “I’m sure he will Keith.”

Keith sighed, “So what are you doing here Shiro?”

Shiro shrugged, “Well, I live here. So… surviving?”

Keith groaned, “You know what I mean Shiro! Like… what are you doing here? In my room? At this very moment in time?”

Shiro smirked, “Sitting?”

Keith groaned loudly in exasperation, “You know what I mean!”

Shiro chuckled a bit, “I’m checking up on you.”

Keith looked at him confused, “Checking up on me? Why”

Shiro looked at him seriously, “There’s a lot of changes that have happened in your life over the last couple weeks. I just don’t want you feeling too overwhelmed.”

Keith couldn’t help but smile a bit. Shiro cared so much. “Thanks for your concern but I’m happy.”

Shiro ruffled his hair a bit, grinning, “I’m glad just know you can talk about anything to me okay?”

Keith nodded, “Uh… okay I will.” He couldn’t figure if Shiro was digging for anything else.

Shiro looked at him seriously, “Anything at all.”

Keith sighed, “Okay Shiro. Will do.” He was actually getting annoyed by these mind games at this point. Shiro was concerned for him. _Cool. Great._ But he could handle himself. There gets to be the point where someone cares just a bit too much. He was tired of Shiro being so cryptic, “Shiro. Can you just say what you came in here to say and stop playing so many mind games!?!”

Shiro smirked playfully, “Whatever are you talking about Keefers?”

Keith glared at him, “I’m serious Shiro.”

He rolled his eyes, “Fine.”

“And don’t call me Keefers! It’s bad enough Pidge does…” His eyes go wide, “Wait. Have you been talking to Pidge?!?” Oh god, they were probably using his brother to dig up dirt on him. Well jokes on them, Shiro hasn’t even been his brother for a year. There’s no dirt to dig up.”

Shiro shrugs, “Not really.”

Keith looks at him skeptically, “Then where’s the ‘Keefers’ coming from.”

Shiro chuckled a bit, “I’ve been talking to her brother. He’s um… an old friend of mine. We lost touch for a while.”

There was something weird going on here. Shiro was not normally so vague. _Pidge’s brother was Matt right?_ Shiro talks a lot about pretty much everything with him, but he never mentioned Matt before, “A close friend?” He inquires curiously.

Shiro looks down, contemplating, “I don’t know.”

_Okay. Yup._ Something’s up here that Shiro’s not telling him. He’s never unsure of anything. He’s always really confident in everything he does yet he’s not confident in this. “Why don’t you know?”

Shiro shrugs, “So let’s talk about why I came here in the first place.”

Keith was not gonna let him get off the hook that easily, “No. I refuse to hear you out until you tell me what’s up with that Matt guy? You said you used to be friends right? What changed?”

Shiro sighs, “I just made a mistake. I’d rather not talk about it.”

Keith looked at him seriously, “You’re always here to talk to me when I need you. You always support me. Let me support you now. Whatever happened, there’s no judgement on my part. I’m your brother. Brother’s have to watch out for each other.”

Shiro studied his face for a moment before sighing a bit, relenting to Keith’s words, “I met him 2 years ago. I had my first class on my first day of college with him. We ended up hanging out everyday that term, we got really close. I don’t know what it was about him, but it just felt natural to be with him, but on the last day of class…” his voice drifted off.

Keith prompted gently, “On the last day of class?”

Shiro sighed audibly, struggling with the words that he needed to say, “On the last week of class he confessed to me… and I ended up handling it wrong. I hurt him. I was awful. I never saw him again after that. I couldn’t fix things..”

Keith put a hand on his shoulder, “Until now?”

Shiro nodded, “Yeah. Until now.”

Keith looked at him softly, knowing he had to be gentle with Shiro right now. He’d never seen the other boy so fragile, “What happened the other night?”

Shiro looked down, “We talked… I kissed him.” He blushed a bit.

Keith was not good at this support thing. He didn’t know what to do or say so he just prompted Shiro to keep talking, “What are you going to do next?”

Shiro sighed and slumped in on himself, “I don’t know.”

Keith nodded, “It’s okay not to know Shiro. You don’t need to figure out everything right away. But maybe take things slow and well… just accept yourself, like you accepted me.”

Shiro gave him a soft smile, “When did you get so smart?”

Keith shrugged, “Honestly, I’m just repeating your words and concepts back to you. I’m not particularly smart, but I am a good listener.”

Shiro gave him a grateful smile, “Thank you Keith. Now. About what I was gonna say before.”

Keith perked up a bit, intrigued as to why Shiro kept delaying it before this conversation, “Yeah? You finally gonna tell me?”

Shiro nodded, he seemed a bit uncomfortable before finally saying, “So you’re officially dating Lance now right?”

Keith looked at him skeptically. _Where was this headed?_ Shiro knew that. “Yeah. I am.”

“And you’re a teenage boy.”

Keith crossed his arms impatiently, “Yeah. I am. What’s your point?”

“And when you’re a teenager you have a lot of hormones going crazy in your body.”

Keith’s eyes opened wide. _Not this. Anything but this._ “Shiro. Don’t do this.”

He continued, “And these hormones will make you want to have sex.”

_Oh god!_ Keith just wanted him to stop, “I’m going to stop you right there.”

Only, Shiro didn’t stop right there because he continued, “and I want you to be prepared when taking the next step. It’s different when two guys have sex.”

Keith was not having this, “Shiro. Stop.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt. There’s a lot of preparation involved.”

“SHIRO!” He yelled. Trying to get him to stop talking.

This seemed to snap him out of this, “Yes Keith?”

Keith groaned, “I don’t know what hormones you’re talking about, but I have no urge to have sex with Lance… the idea really doesn’t appeal to me.”

Shiro looks a bit confused, “You… don’t? Is it because of the guy thing? I guess it’ll be a slow process. I know how hard of a hurdle it is to get over. Especially when you previously identified as straight. But you will get over it, and when you do I want you to be prepared.”

Keith groaned, “No. Shiro. You really don’t get it. Sex does not appeal to me. I’ve never seen the point. Even when I dated girls. So I don’t want to have this talk.”

Shiro looked at him curiously, “Keith? Are you ace?”

Keith had no clue what that meant? But Shiro clearly thought it was weird that he wasn’t as obsessed with sex as everyone else. He simply shrugged, “I don’t even know what that it.”

Shiro looked at him kindly, “In simple terms it’s when sex just doesn’t appeal to you. Often it’ll actually repulse the person.”

Keith shook his head, “I don’t think so? I mean, that’s part of a relationship right? Sex comes eventually and I’m not ready for it. I mean… I really like Lance, and I love kissing him but I don’t want to go beyond that.” Keith was confused by his own words. They didn’t exactly make the most sense, but he was extremely confused by it all. He didn’t know what’s right or normal or how he should feel.

But the way that Shiro made it sound, basically everyone else liked sex and had thought about it, but it’d never once crossed his mind.

Shiro saw the conflict on his face and added, “You’re romantic interest in someone isn’t directly connected to your sex drive Keith. Why don’t you spend some time looking that stuff up.”

Keith nodded and just stared at the ground. He felt like a bit of a freak. “Uh… sure. Is that all?”

Shiro nodded, “Yeah. I just wanted to make sure you were safe about things. Do you want to play some video games?”

Shiro was clearly trying to take his mind off things but right now he wanted to just be alone, “No. I have to finish this drawing then work on my next update. Red and Blue are finally getting together.”

Shiro nodded and stood up. “Okay. Then I’ll leave you to it.”

Keith’s mind was a whirlwind of worries. _Was it really that weird to not have sex? What even is ace?_ Lance had said that sex was just a bonus but he probably still expected it eventually and Keith didn’t know if he could give it to him. What if Lance broke up with him?

He stopped his mind in its tracks. He had to have a bit more faith in Lance. He trusted Lance. He’d never trusted anyone this much, besides maybe Shiro. He had to have more faith in him.

He sighed and looked down at the drawing on his tablet and smiled at the memory of their date. Yeah. He didn’t even know if he was ace but he was sure that even if he was, Lance would accept him.

Or at least that’s what he told himself but he wasn’t fully convinced.

That Friday, Keith walked with Lance home after school. His bag packed with sleepover stuff. He normally updated Sundays, but there was a headline on the site for his webcomic that said he’d update today. Really, he just wanted to be there when Lance read about Red and Blue getting together.

He did that as a secret gift to Lance after all.

How one person could effect his story so much he didn’t know, but it’s only right that if Red’s supposed to represent himself and Blue now represents Lance, that they get together.

“What are you thinking about?”

Lance’s voice broke him out of his thoughts and he looked over at him, almost jumping in surprised. Instead he squeezed his hand, the one he’d been holding since the moment they found themselves alone on the forest path to Lance’s house. “Nothing much. Just the new Voltron update.”

Lance nodded, “Yeah! I’ve been thinking about that a lot too! There’s so much lead up to Red and Blue getting together! The way they talked in the last update! I really think they’re gonna become a thing! And the author’s posting tonight instead of Sunday! That’s gotta mean something!”

Keith smiles a bit, “Maybe the author’s as excited to get Red and Blue together as you are.”

Lance grinned and started rambling about how, yeah, that was definitely the case, and all the moments that were leading up to this. And about how amazing the characters were and how amazing Voltron was.

Lance seemed to repeat himself often. He was just so excited about this and Keith would never get bored of listening to the same thing over and over again as long as Lance continued to be so passionate and excited about it.

It didn’t hurt that he was rambling about his webcomic though. It was really flattering and always made him smile. He found it much easier to write now that he knew he had so many people supporting him and reading his comic.

It didn’t take long for them to reach his house and Keith froze at the front door, not sure how he felt about meeting Lance’s parents. Lance squeezed his hand reassuringly and looked over at him, seeming to sense his hesitation, “It’ll be fine Keith. Don’t worry. Mama’s gonna love you.”

Keith looked over at Lance, unconvinced but sighed in resolution, “Okay. Whatever you say Lance.”

Lance lead them inside and he called out to his mom, “ _Mama!_ Keith’s here!”

Keith stayed frozen where he was as a hispanic woman came in. He can definitely see the resemblance between her and Lance. Brown hair, similar facial structure, beautiful. He takes a deep breath as he stares up at her horrified. He’d never met the parents before so he didn’t know how he was supposed to act.

She smiled sweetly at him, “Hello there. You must be the boyfriend Lance has been talking so much about.”

Keith blushes and nods, “Lance... talks about me?”

She smiled, “He never stops talking about you. I’m Melly by the way, it’s really nice to meet you.” She holds out her hand to him.

Keith takes her hand and shakes it nervously, “It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Mclain.”

She laughs a bit at that as she pulls her hand away, “No need to be so formal dear. Just call me Mama. You seem like a nice boy and I haven’t seen Lance so smitten in a long time.”

Lance groaned, “ _Mama!_ ”

She smiled light heartedly, “Nothing wrong with being smitten dear. You two are so cute! Let me take a picture!”

Keith was completely confused by this act as she snapped an unexpected picture of them. Keith was never really photogenic. He always opted out of taking pictures altogether because of this fact. So he knew it probably looked awful.

But instead of asking for another she smiled down at the picture on the digital screen, “You two look so cute together! If you guys get married now I’ll have a picture of the first time you brought him home!”

Keith started coughing, having choked on his own spit.

_What!?!_

Lance looked at him in concern, rubbing his back until he stopped coughing and murmured to him, “She does this with any partner I take home. Don’t worry too much okay?”

Keith nodded and blushed a deep red, mumbling, “Sure…” How could he not worry? They’d only just started dating and now marriage was being brought up? Dating a guy was one thing but… marrying a guy? It was too soon to even try to make sense of that thought.

Luckily he had the best boyfriend in the world, “Me and Keith are going up to my room now! Call us when dinner’s ready!”

He started dragging him away, Melly saying, “Don’t forget to leave the door open a bit!”

Lance groaned and as soon as they were out of earshot he turned to Keith and murmured, “Sorry about her. She’s a little overzealous about these things.”

Keith shrugs a bit. Sure it was embarrassing but it was really nice that she cared so much about her son, “It’s actually sort of nice. She wouldn’t have done that if she didn’t love you.”

Lance smiles softly, “Yeah. She’s a great mother.”

Keith grins, “Plus, now I know that you talk about me a lot. What do you say hm?”

Lance blushed a slight pink, “Nothing! Just that you suck at racing a grocery cart!”

Keith rolled his eyes, “Doubtful.”

Keith hadn’t noticed until he spoke up, but this kid, quite a bit younger that Lance had been standing there listening to their whole conversation, “Actually, he talks about how hot and dreamy you are! And literally everything you do in a day. I don’t think he leaves out a single detail.”

Lance gasps, “Armando! How could you betray me like that?!”

Armando shrugs, “You call it betrayal, I call it honesty.” He turns to Keith, “You must be Keith right? I’m Armando!”

Keith smiles at the kid. He didn’t exactly know how to handle kids but this was Lance’s little brother so he’d have to try, “Hey Armando. Lance talks a lot about you.”

Armando looks between him and Lance, “Don’t believe anything he says.”

Lance gasps, “What’s that supposed to mean!?!”

Armando crosses his arms, “It means, you’ve probably just spread lies about me.”

Keith smiles a bit, “He’s honestly only said good things about you.”

Armando chuckles a bit, “Exactly! Lies!”

Keith chuckles a bit. This kid was something else.

Lance grabbed his hand again and lead him past his brother, “We’re going to my room now!”

Keith gave a slight wave to the kid, “It was nice to meet you.”

Armando smiled back, “You too Keefers!”

Keith groaned as he followed Lance, “Pidge got to him too?”

Lance laughed a bit, “Yeah well. What do you expect? It’s Pidge.”

Keith smiles a bit, “Your brother seems nice.”

Lance nodded, “Yeah he is. He’s going through a rebellious stage right now. When I say rebellious I mean in words alone. He says he won’t do something but always ends up following through with whatever’s asked of him.”

Keith chuckles a bit, “Interesting kid.”

They walk into Lance’s room and he had a soft smile on his face, “Yeah. He is. He’s also really smart. Like… scary smart. Pidge actually tutors him because she see’s herself in the kid. It’s probably the main reason for his attitude lately. I keep telling mom he shouldn’t be allowed to hang out with him so much but she just sort of laughs it off. Soon enough my precious little brother will be completely corrupted by that gremlin! Whatever am I to do?”

Keith smiles and shrugs a bit, “Honestly? I have no idea. Good luck with that.” He patted Lance on the shoulder then moved further into his room, unsure as to where to sit but he put his bag in the corner.

Lance sighed dramatically and wrapped his arms around Keith from behind, “Come ooonnn Keeeeiiittthhh!! Help me! I don’t want my sweet little brother to be corrupted!”

Keith smiled, loving the feeling of Lance's arms around him. He leaned into the touch and turned his head to the side so that he could sort of see Lance’s face.. “From what I saw, it’s a bit too late for that.”

Lance gave him a light peck on the lips, which was a bit awkward from this angle but manageable. Then he pouted and Keith turned around completely to take in the sight, still wrapped up in Lance’s arms. Whenever Lance pouted like this it was completely adorable.

“That can’t be true…” Lance murmured the next part quieter, “My sweet little brother is in there somewhere. We just have to coax him out.”

Keith kissed his pouty lips just gently, wrapping his arms around the other boys waist and smiling at him, “Don’t worry Lance. I’m sure it’s not permanent, and besides, I don’t think anyone could ever truly be like Pidge. Pidge is one of a kind.”

Lance nods, “Yeah. True. But Pidge really isn’t a proper role model for him.”

Keith chuckled a bit, “Could be worse.”

Lance looked at him skeptically, “How could it get worse than Pidge?”

He smirked, “Could be you.”

Lance pushes him away, “You take that back! I’m a great role model!”

Keith stumbled a bit then adds sarcastically, “Oh yeah. Cuz a great role model would push his boyfriend like that. What happened to being a gentleman McClain?”

Lance crossed his arms indignantly, “I’ll have you know! I’m a perfect gentleman! You’re just an asshole!”

Keith smiled and walked over to Lance again, wrapping his arms around him again and leaning in close to his lips, looking into his impossible blue eyes. “But I’m your asshole?”

A soft smile immediately graces his face the moment Keith invades his personal space. “Yeah. You are.”

Keith’s not sure who leans in first but he soon feels the touch of Lance’s lips against his own. Their lips move in sync, just a series of small kisses, gentle brushes of lips.

Keith wraps his arms around Lance once more, holding him close, enjoying the warm presence of the other boy. Lances fingers run along his hair, Keith enjoys every subtle movement. Nothing is forced. Nothing is rushed. It’s all smooth languid movements.

His heartbeats fast, his mind goes blank. All that exists in this moment is the two of them and Keith has never been so happy.

He’d always held back. He’d never say what he wanted. But now he could be himself. He could tease Lance and be an asshole, then moments later be wrapped up in Lance’s arms like this.

He didn’t have to be nice, or straight, or incredible. He could just be himself with Lance. And that was enough for him. Lance liked him for all that he was. And with every moment in Lance’s arms his fears started to fade away.

There was a knock on the door, even though it was still cracked open a bit. Lance and Keith pulled away hesitantly, both blushing a deep red and trying to act casual.

Lance sighed then called out, “Come in.”

Melly came in and smiled at the boys, “Dinner’s ready” She looked between the two of them with an amused expression, “I’ll see you boys downstairs.”

She walked out and Lance looked at him, smiling contentedly. “I guess we better go down.” He took Keith’s hand and Keith smiled to himself because, yeah, he never imagined that his life could be liked this.

That he could be so happy.

Dinner wasn’t too bad. Mama asked a lot of questions to which he answered easily. They were light and simple things, like school, and hobbies, when they got to family he just talked about his foster family. She didn’t comment on the fact that he was a foster kid nor did she give him a pitying look. It was nice.

Afterward, Keith offered to help clear the table but Mama waved them off, roping Armando into helping instead so the boys could have their time alone together.

Keith followed Lance up the stairs, “You’re family is really nice.”

Lance nods, “Thanks. I really love them. You’ll probably meet dad tomorrow. He normally works really late on Fridays.”

Keith stiffened a bit. He was never really comfortable around dads. Not since what happened with Aiden but he knew that if he was a McClain, everything would probably be okay. He was still a bit worried though. Still, he figured he’d ask about it, “So um… is your dad okay? With us?”

Lance smiled and squeezed his hand as they walked back into his room, “Yeah. Why wouldn’t the be?”

Keith smiled, “Oh. Okay. That’s good.”

He led him over to the bed and sat down, pulling Keith down as well. He looked over at Keith and gave him a reassuring smile, “You have nothing to worry about with them okay? My parents are really accepting of who I am.”

Keith looked over at Lance. He really wanted to believe him, but it was hard to believe anyone from that generation could be accepting of them. Hell, it was hard to believe anyone in their generation could be accepting. He was barely accepting of himself as-is.

Keith nods, “It’s just a bit hard to believe.”

Lance looked at him curiously, “That they’re accepting?”

Keith sighed, barely being able to meet eye contact as his confidence withered, “That anyone could.”

Lance pulls him into a hug, “I don’t know what you’ve experienced in the past, and I’m not going to force you to tell me. But it’s not like that anymore okay? Is that why you don’t want me being affectionate at school?” He pulls away a bit to make eye contact with Keith again.

Keith looks down, feeling a bit ashamed, “Yeah. Something like that.”

Lance cups Keith’s face in his hand and coaxes him to look up so they’re making eye contact, “Our school is pretty accepting. People know that I’m bi. Our LGBTQ club is pretty big. It’s not uncommon for same sex couples to walk hand in hand. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed that.”

Keith mumbled, “I don’t normally pay attention to anyone else…”

Lance smiles reassuringly, “Our community here is really accepting. We’re really lucky. I know it’s not like that everywhere, but here you don’t have to worry… for the most part. There’s always going to be haters, or people who stop and stare, but for the most part people are really accepting. And if they’re not they’ll have to fight me!”

Keith chuckled a bit, “Lance. You’re a complete twig. You’d lose.”

Lance grins widely, “Not if I have you for backup!”

“And if they’re bigger than us?”

Lance grinned, “If they’re big, they’re probably slower than us! We’ll just outrun them!”

Keith rolled his eyes, “I thought the point was to confront people who hated on us? Not run away.”

Lance groaned, “Well whatever! Point is, I’ll stand up for you if anything happens, but it shouldn’t.”

Keith leaned in and kissed Lance’s cheek. “Thanks Lance.”

Lance continued tentatively, “So does this mean I can hold your hand at school now?”

Keith smiled at his beautiful boyfriend, “Yeah. I guess so.”

Lance grins widely, “Good! Because I’ve been itching to show you off as my boyfriend!! It’s been annoying because a couple people I know had a thing for you. But I didn’t know if you were okay with me saying we were boyfriends, and it was driving me crazy!!”

Keith chuckles a bit, “It wasn’t much different for me. Some girls in my class kept trying to get me to introduce them to you and stuff. They even liked the blue hair.”

Lance sighs, “At least it’s fading a bit.”

“Which is kind of disappointing. I kind of liked the colour.”

Lance shrugs, “I don’t mind it much anymore, so if you actually like it I could bleach my hair and buy slightly better dye than Manic Panic?”

Keith looks at him, slightly amused, “What happened to you being overly protective over your hair, hm? You said the blue ruined it.”

Lance shrugged, “Well you like it. And honestly, I’m not trying to impress anyone else.”

Keith kissed him gently, “You could be bald and I’d still think you’d look hot. Don’t base your look off what I like.”

Lance sighs in relief, “Okay cool. Then I’m going back to my natural hair colour. Do you think it’ll fade out naturally, or will I have to dye my hair brown again.

Keith shrugged, “It honestly might just be better to dye your hair again.”

Lance nodded, “Okay cool. Well I sold a few more cosplay pints so I should be able to afford it now.”

Keith looked at his boyfriend in surprise. He knew Lance was a pretty big cosplayer, but he didn’t actually know that he sold cosplay prints. “Can I see them?”

Lance grinned, “I’ll even give you a full set of them.”

He went over to his closet and pulled out a few folders then brought them over.

The more Keith looked through them the more impressed he was. “Wow. these are really good!” _God. Lance was really, really hot._ These poses… and a good half of them he was shirtless. His skin looked so smooth. His eyes looked even more intense in all these pics, but every picture they were a different colour. Every picture Lance looked like a completely different character, but at the same time, he just looked like Lance.

He grinned, “Yeah. I might take you up on that offer. How much for a complete set?”

Lance smirked, “For you? That’ll cost you a grand total of one kiss.”

Keith raised his eyebrow, “One kiss?”

Lance added, “Multiplied by a thousand.”

Keith chuckled a bit, “Then I guess I better get straight to paying that off hm?”

Lance smirked, “Guess so.”

Keith leaned in and kissed Lance on the cheek, “One.” then on the other cheek, “Two.” Then he brushed a few of the blue locks on his forehead aside to press a gentle kiss to his temple, “Three.”

And this is when Lance chose to whine a bit, “I meant on my lips!”

Keith let out an amused chuckle, “You should have specified.” He placed another kiss on the corner of his mouth, “Four.”

Lance pouted and he finally gave in and pressed a gentle peck to his lips murmuring, “Five.”

Keith pulled away after that, “I’ll pay you the rest later. Wouldn’t want to get too distracted and miss the new Voltron update, would we?”

Lance snapped out of a content daze and looked at Keith excitedly, “Nope! Definitely not! Speaking of Voltron and prints. I got the pictures back from the photographer at con? You remember those Red/Blue pics we took? They turned out really great! And as much as I love the solo shots, the shots of the two of us turned out even better. So I was wondering if I could sell a few of those prints?”

Keith froze. That would mean those pictures would be posted online. Though Lance probably already intended to post them online so he shouldn’t be too surprised. He really didn’t know how he felt about this. “Why don’t you show me the pictures?”

Lance spent a bit of time showing him the photos, and they were actually really nice. Keith only agreed to Lance printing the ones where his hair made it so you couldn’t really distinguish who Keith was.

Keith paused for a moment, in admiring the beautifully taken picture when he remembered something. “Hey Lance. Wait here for a moment. I need to get something!” He walked away from the computer and towards his bag, pulling out an envelope with the drawing he made for Lance in it.

He smiled to himself as he heard Lance state in a very vocal fashion, “I hate to see him go, but I love to watch him walk away.” He laughed a bit at how ridiculous Lance was and shot him a playful glare over his shoulder, to which Lance simply responded with a wink.

Lance was completely ridiculous.

He grabbed a big envelope from his bag and brought it over to Lance, placing it in front of him. “Here.”

Lance looked at him curiously, “What’s this?” He grabbed the envelope and started opening it.

Keith blushed a bit but smiled, “You asked me to draw you in my art style. And since we basically look like Red and Blue, and my art style is based off Voltron well… There you go.” He really hoped he liked it.

Lance looked at the picture and a wide smile spread across his face. “THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!! Holy shit, you said you were an artist, but I didn’t know you were this good! My boyfriend has some serious talent!” He stood up, hugged Keith tightly, then went back to sitting in front of the computer, staring at the picture, “Do you have a digital copy? I want to make it my screensaver.”

Keith was overjoyed that Lance liked it so much. “Yeah I do. I’ll send it to you tomorrow.”

Lance nods, “Sounds good!”

He ended up staring at the picture for a solid 10 minutes, grinning goofily to himself before he hung it up on the wall next to his posters and pictures of various cosplayers, including a signed print of Shiro.

He checked the time on his phone. It was 8:45. Fifteen minutes until the next chapter would go live. He was excited to see Lance’s reaction, because he was still staring and gushing at the print. So how would he react to Blue and Red actually getting together.

Lance came over to him once again once the print was on the wall. “You should get a booth at a con! You could make a killing selling prints like that one!”

Keith shrugged, “Maybe.”

Lance grins, “But you’ll have to get someone to watch your table some of the days, cuz now that I have a hot boyfriend we need to do couples cosplay!”

Keith looks at him strangely, “What?”

Lance gives him a determined look, “You know. Couples cosplay? Characters that are couples and you cosplay them. The meaning is in the name! I’ve always wanted to cosplay ships with a partner but my ex’s wouldn’t go to cons. But you’ve already been to one so you can’t you the excuse that it’s ‘too geeky’!”

Keith took a moment to look like he was contemplating it, “Well… I suppose that would be okay. Do you have something in mind?”

Lance nodded eagerly, “Oh yeah! Ever heard of Boku No Hero Academia?”

Keith had heard of it, from Shiro. Anime wasn’t totally his thing, “Yeah. I know of it. It’s an anime right?”

Lance nodded eagerly, “Okay so in the manga Kirishima and Bakugou may as well be dating! They’re so meant to be!”

 

Keith looked at him curiously, “Who?”

Lance sighed, “The angry explosion guy and the happy go lucky spiky red head!”

Keith nodded, “Okay. I know who you’re talking about. So… you want me to be the angry one?”

Lance grinned widely, “Yup!! You’ll make such a hot Bakugou!”

Keith shrugged, “Maybe. But I doubt I’d be able to make the outfit.”

Lance kissed his cheek, “Leave that to me! All you have to do is show up to the con!”

Keith honestly wouldn’t mind going to another con, “And when’s that?”

Lance grins, “It’s the weekend before Christmas. So if you’re busy at that time, I’ll understand. But I’d love to spend that weekend with you!”

Keith blushed a bit. Lance was making plans with him so far in advance. Which meant Lance didn’t see him as just a short term thing. “Yeah. Okay. I’d really like that!”

Lance gave him an excited smile, “You won’t regret it! It’ll be so much fun! I swear!!”

Just then Keith noticed it was 9:03. “Hey Lance. Let’s refresh the page again and see if the new update was posted?”

Lance turned back to the computer screen eagerly to see that it had in fact updated. He read it and literally squealed in giddy excitement once he saw Blue and Red kiss. He shot straight up off his seat and hugged Keith, jumping up and down, “THEY ACTUALLY GOT TOGETHER!!! Holy shit, this is revolutionary! No one ever makes gay couples in shows that are super mainstream or like, about other stuff. Like… This is an action mecha space webcomic! I never thought they’re really get together! I hoped, but I didn’t think it’d really happen! We have to cosplay Blue and Red again at the winter con as well!”

Keith smiled widely. His boyfriend was so happy. This was completely worth it. He was so glad he brought these two characters together. He leaned in and kissed his boyfriend, “Whatever you want. Cosplay is your thing after all. I’m just along for the ride.”

Lance nodded, “I honestly think I could die happy now!”

Keith held him close, “You’re not allowed to die.”

Lance smiles and kisses him, “Aawweee are you saying you’d miss me?”

Keith rolls his eyes and smirks, “Never said that.”

Lance pokes his cheek, “But you implied it.”

Keith shrugs, “Maybe.”

Lance beams at him then turns back to his computer, “Mind if I check the forums quickly? I want to see all the reactions to Red/Blue!”

Keith grins, “I kind of do too!”

They ended up staying late, reading different forums and responses. There was obviously some negativity to this, but most of the response was overly positive, and Keith felt pretty proud of himself.

Eventually they had to call it a day and head to bed, just before doing so he checked his phone to see that he had a couple texts from Pidge.

(23:21) Rocket: Hey Keith. I know you’re busy with your boyfriend but we need to talk about something

(23:50) Rocket: Actually it would probably be better to talk about it in person

(00:14) Rocket: I’m heading to bed now. Let’s meet up tomorrow. Sooner the better

(00:54) Let’s meet at my place around noon?

He turned off his phone and set it to the side, turning his attention back to Lance, “So where am I sleeping then?”

Lance grinned, “I mean… you could sleep on the couch, but my bed is actually big enough for the two of us if you want to share?”

Keith blushed but nodded, “I think I’d rather the second option.” He climbed into Lance’s bed with him, still in his pajamas. He wanted to be close to Lance but he didn’t know what was appropriate. They’d cuddles when they shared a sleeping bag at the group sleepover, but now they didn’t have the excuse of a small space to bring them close together.

Lance soon made the decision for him, hugging him from behind and effectively making him the little spoon. He smiled at the contact. Feeling content and falling asleep within seconds.

He woke up the next day, still wrapped up in Lance’s arms. He had no desire to move so he just laid there, soaking up the warmth and feeling so safe and loved.

_“¡Lance! ¡Es hora de despertar! Si no estás despierto en cinco minutos, voy a buscarte, decente o no.”_ Melly shouted from downstairs.

Keith had no clue what she said but he heard Lance yell back, _“¡Diez! Dame diez minutos más!”_

_“Esto no es una negociación, hijo! ¡Escucha a tu madre!”_ Called a male voice that Keith could only assume was his father.

Lance groaned and sat up and kissed Keith's cheek, “We should probably get up.”

Keith groaned. There goes his peaceful comforting morning. He hated the concept of ‘waking up’. He sat up anyways, “Yeah. Okay. You better skip your morning routine today. I don’t want to have to face your parents downstairs alone.”

Lance knew better than to protest. Morning Keith was not a pleasant Keith to deal with.

Keith got changed in the bathroom quickly and skulked downstairs, heavy bags under his eyes and wanting to go back to sleep. He straightened up when he saw Lance’s father, or what he assumed was his dad.

_“No sabía que teníamos a alguien aquí?”_ He turned to his wife.

Melly smiled pleasantly, _“Si cariño. Ese es Keith. Él es el nuevo novio de Lance.”_

The older male smiled kindly at him, “Good morning Keith. I’m Henry. Lance’s dad. It’s nice to meet you.”

Keith stood there awkwardly, wishing Lance would come down the stairs already, “It’s um… nice to meet you Mr. McClain.”

Henry chuckled a bit, “Just Henry is fine.”

Melly smiled at him, “Breakfast is ready if you want to join us? Lance will probably be another ten minutes at least. Even when that boy says he’ll be quick, he still takes at least that long.”

Keith nodded and sat down at the table awkwardly. Luckily it didn’t stay awkward for very long. The McClains all knew how to fill a silent room with laughter and cheer. Keith was happy just to bask in the atmosphere.

Soon it was time for him to go, he couldn’t keep Pidge waiting. He said goodbye to the McClains and Lance borrowed the car to drive him home again.

When they were in the driveway, he smiled at his boyfriend, “One of these days I’ll be my own ride so neither of us will have to borrow someone else’s.”

Lance chuckles a bit, “That’d be really nice.” His eyes dart down to Keith’s lips then back up to his eyes and Keith understood the hint. He leans in and kisses his boyfriend. “I’ll see you later.”

He got out of the car to see Pidge already waiting for him at the front of the house. He looked at them curiously, “What are you--”

They cut him off, “About time. Let’s go. I need to show you something!”

He followed them inside and up to his room. They sat in the beanbag chairs and Pidge booted up their laptop, typing a few things into their keypad then bringing up what seemed to be an email.

He looked over, “So Rocket. What’s so important that you had to tell me in person?”

Pidge looked at him seriously, “So one of the features I put into the website was an email system. I sort of just casually monitor it, a lot of it is the same sort of thing, raving about how great your comic is, or asking for a particular event to happen, but this was different. This is an email from Universal Studios.”

Keith looked at Pidge curiously, “Um… okay? Why would a movie company send us an email?”

Pidge grinned, “See, that’s just it! This company sent us an email because they want to make a movie based on Voltron!”

Keith stared at her completely floored. How was he supposed to react to that? They wanted to make a movie based off his Voltron?

Pidge looked at him curiously, “What do you want me to tell them boss?”

Keith wasn’t sure he was fully prepared to make this decision now, but he should probably respond in some form? This was a huge movie company. He just really didn’t want them to destroy his stories integrity on screen. “Tell them to send over a story proposal and we’ll consider it.”

Keith stood there shocked. What was he supposed to do now? How would this even work? It was a huge opportunity for him. Voltron? A movie? He’d never dreamed an opportunity like this would come up. He was excited for this but one tiny detail held him back.

How was he going to keep this a secret from Lance?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¡Lance! ¡Es hora de despertar! Si no estás despierto en cinco minutos, voy a buscarte, decente o no.  
> Lance it's time to wake up! If you're not up in five minutes I'm coming up to get you! Decent or not!
> 
> ¡Diez! Dame diez minutos más!  
> Ten! Give me ten more minutes!
> 
> Esto no es una negociación, hijo! ¡Escucha a tu madre!  
> This is not a negotiation son! Listen to your mother! 
> 
> No sabía que teníamos a alguien aquí  
> I didn't know we had a guest. 
> 
> Si cariño. Ese es Keith. Él es el nuevo novio de Lance.  
> Yes dear. That's Keith. He's Lance's new boyfriend.
> 
>  
> 
> I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It's meant to be a bit of a transitionary chapter to the next part of the fic! It's a bit longer to try and make up for not posting last week! Let me know what you guys think! <3


	13. Chapter 13

Lance pulled on his gym shorts. Today would be the day. The day he’d beat Keith in wrestling and show off just how tough he was to his boyfriend.

He exited the gym, looking around for said boyfriend and grinning as he watched him stretch, checking out his ass in the process and trying not to let his mind wander.

Failing at not letting his mind wander.

Mind you, it wasn’t his fault. They’d been dating for over a month and it was only natural to have those sort of thoughts about your boyfriend, but they hadn’t really done anything past making out yet, and it wasn’t like Lance was impatient or anything. He wanted Keith to go at his own pace, but he was starting to feel a little insecure.

He understood that Keith has never had a proper relationship before, which meant he was probably a virgin, a conversation Lance wasn’t ready to ask of his shy boyfriend. So he understood that he shouldn’t pressure Keith, and he didn’t want to, but he was also starting to wonder if there was something wrong with him?

Or maybe it was the fact that he was a guy?

Lance sighed. There was no point in thinking about this. He walked over to his boyfriend and started stretching beside him. Keith lifted his head to meet his eyes, grinning that competitive grin that sent chills up his spine.

“You ready to lose McClain?” He challenged and it ignited the latent spark in his soul.

He chuckled a bit, making a point to flex while stretching his arms, “Me? Lose? To you? Never. I have two older siblings and a little brother. I am a master at this craft!”

Gym class had already been his favourite class before Keith joined him at this school, but now that Keith was here, it was even better! With each new unit they’d compete to see who could best the other! He’d easily won at basketball, but Keith easily dominated in badminton. Wrestling was their current unit and he wasn’t about to let Keith dominate this unit and take the lead.

Keith chuckled a bit as he stood up, fully stretched and ready to go when the teacher started speaking, teaching them a few moves before telling them to practice on their partners.

Instead of everyone going off on their own, quite a few surrounded Keith and Lance. They knew how fiercely competitive they got and it was always a good show.

They circled each other and Keith smirked, “So you gonna just use those new techniques you were taught?”

Lance met his eyes. Keith’s eyes always betrayed him. “You hiding something from me Kogane?”

Keith shrugged, “Why don’t you come at me and find out for yourself?”

Lance wasn’t about to back down from the challenge. The person who made the first move normally had the upper hand anyways. He rushed the other boy, “You’re going down!” If he could be an even match for Miguel, he could definitely take Keith down!

The next thing he knew he was being flipped and pinned to the mat. Keith straddling him and pinning Lance’s wrists above his head. He smirked down at him causing Lance to blush, “Mmm I beg to differ.”

Lance’s eyes went wide in surprise. _Damn_. That was actually pretty hot. “I’m pretty sure flips are illegal in wrestling. So that’s a point for me.” He tried to smirk but it was hard to be cocky with Keith’s position over him. He was so close. He wanted to kiss him so he struggled a bit, desperate to cradle Keith’s face in his hands and give him a passionate kiss, but he couldn’t move. He desperately wished he wasn’t in gym class right now so he could make something more of this situation.

Keith must’ve noticed his desperation and leaned down, kissing him gently then getting off of him, holding his hand out to Lance to help him up then shrugging, ”Technically, but you were still the one that went down.”

Lance took it gratefully and stood up, grinning widely. Everytime Keith kissed him in public he felt a lot more secure in things. He knew that Keith had some trouble back in Texas. He said he felt a bit better about being public about things now, but moments like this were few and far between so they always left Lance smiling. “You ready to go again then? This time I won’t go down so easily.”

But he did. Keith kept pinning him all gym class, not without a struggle from Lance, but damn, that boy was strong and had really good technique. Needless to say, Lance did not complain about losing to Keith that day.

Not even slightly.

He greatly looked forwards to the rest of their wrestling unit if it meant Keith continually pinning him to the mat and looking down at him with that cocky grin.

They got changed and headed out hand in hand, Lance swinging their hands back and forth. No one as much as gave them a second look, and the few nasty glares they got were probably more from jealousy than anything else. Of course they’d be jealous that he’d snagged the hot and mysterious new kid. And of course, Lance was also a huge catch!

He looked at his boyfriend and smiled, “Hey babe! What’ya wanna do today?”

Keith was searching the halls for someone and took a break from his quest to momentarily rest his gaze on Lance’s eyes, “Actually, I promised Pidge I’d hang with them today. We have homework.”

Lance sighed, he’d been hanging out a lot with Pidge. If it was anyone else he might get jealous, but this was Pidge. They were aro ace. He was totally in the clear.

But he was still jealous that he didn’t get to spend as much time with Keith.

_When had his life started to revolve Keith?_

Not that he minded. Keith was… all kinds of wonderful. Totally worth revolving around! He smiled at Keith, “Ah. More homework from that awful math teacher again?”

Keith groaned, “I have never gotten lower than an 85 before. How am I getting barely a 70?!?”

Lance chuckled a bit, “Well that’s Mr.Grimly for you. 50% fail rate.”

Keith sighed, “I know…” He looked over at Lance, “I can come over tomorrow though? Or you could come over to my place? Mom’s making sushi!”

Lance made a face, not a huge fan of sushi, “My mom’s making a _ropa veja_ and rice. Why don’t you come over here?”

Keith smiled, “Sounds good.”

They both got their stuff from their lockers then lingered in the hallway talking, pretty much everyone else having gone home already. Neither one of them wanted to leave because then they’d have to separate.

Keith looked at him then smiled, “Wanna walk me home?”

Lance nodded, just happy that he didn’t have to say goodbye to Keith just yet. He wanted to just steal all of Keith’s time and attention. Not that he’d ever say that out loud. Nobody likes a needy boyfriend.

He walked Keith home, asking him about his day, talking about some of the shenanigans that went on. Then they stopped at his doorstep. Just like with the hallway at school, he loitered there with Keith. Neither one of them wanting to leave.

He leaned in to kiss Keith again, wrapping his arms around him, holding him close. It wasn’t a heated kiss but it was definitely filled with passion. It lingered, just sort of there. It heated his insides up like a good meal. Satisfying and necessary to survive.

They pulled away and Lance sighed, “Guess I should go?”

Keith looked at him, like there was something he wanted to say. Something other than the simple, “Yeah. Guess so...” That came out of his mouth.

Lance pecked his cheek, “I’ll see you tomorrow babe.” He winked at Keith. His boyfriend blushing a brilliant red that never failed to make his heart flutter. Whether the blush was from the pet name or the wink he didn’t know, but he’d gladly continue doing both as long as he got Keith’s adorable flustered reaction!

“See you later.” He mumbled in response and went inside. Lance smiled to himself as he walked away, straight into Pidge who was carrying a couple of boxes.

Lance stopped, “Hey Pidge. What dyuu have there? Need help with those? It looks like a lot.”

Pidge looks at him surprised and shakes their head quickly, giving him a smile that not even their own brother would trust, “Nothing.”

Lance narrowed his eyes at Pidge. Nothing my ass! “Oh. Keith said you were coming over today. Are those for him?”

Pidge didn’t miss a beat, “Yup I told him we could go through some of my old video games!”

LIES!!! “Ah. Could I come? I think I could be a lot of help with that!”

“I mean… we’re not looking at these until after we do our homework.”

Time to test a theory, “Ah. Keith was mentioning you had some pretty intense English stuff to take care of.”

Pidge nodded, “Yeah. It’s a pretty killer assignment and Keith couldn’t do it without me! So I better get going! See ya later Lance!”

They walked away and Lance was left wondering what was going on. He didn’t want to think that Pidge and Keith were doing anything behind his back but the whole ‘studying’ thing was clearly a lie. He wasn’t an idiot… as much as Pidge liked to imply he was sometime.

He decided it was time for him to figure out what was going on around here so he called up Hunk, “Hey Hunk!”

He could hear a nervous chuckle, “Hey Lance. Hi. Hey. So. Whatya callin bout buddy?”

Hunk seemed to be nervous about something. He’d think it was suspicious as well if he wasn’t always nervous about something or other, “ Not much. Just wanted to see if you were down for a recon mission!”

Hunk responded nervously, “Pidge?”

Hunk knew him all too well, “Yeah! Something fishy is going on there and I want to see what their up to. And Keith is clearly in on it as well! I’m not normally one for conspiracies but there’s definitely something here!”

Hunk gives the expected response, “I don’t think we should look into it too hard I’m sure they’re just busy with homework or something.”

Lance rolls his eyes, “It’s not that Hunk. Trust me. Meet me at the Holt’s house ASAP. We need to investigate!”

He could hear Hunk let out a loud sigh on the other end of the phone, “I’ll be there in 15.” Then hung up.

Lance grinned to himself. He’d definitely figure out what was going on here! He all but ran the rest of the way to Pidge’s house, knowing they were out with Keith and would probably be gone or several hours. It was the perfect time to strike! And now he’d just need to get past Matt!

It didn’t take long for Hunk to join him and he patted the nervous boy on the back, “Glad to have you join me my dear Watson! Ready to see what’s inside these barren lands.”

Hunk looked at him nervously, “You don’t mean breaking and entering do you? We could be arrested Lance!” Lance gave him a look then he sighed, “I mean Sherlock.”

Lance grinned widely, “I simply mean entering Watson! No breaking required!” He opened the Holt’s door. The fact that it was still unlocked meant that Matt was home. They only ever locked the door when no one was home. The Holt’s parents were away on another business trip so they knew it couldn’t be them.

He turned to Hunk and held a finger up to his lips to signal for him to be quiet before continuing to tiptoe through the house. Though if he’d wanted to be quite, he probably shouldn’t have brought Hunk. His feet were loud and clunky, completely giving away their positioning.

Luckily, Hunk’s noises were completely overshadowed by the noises he was hearing coming from Matt’s room.

He had a mission. He had to silently go over to Pidge’s room and investigate but he also had curiosity and wanted to figure out the noises that were coming from Matt’s room.

He crept closer to Matt’s door, away from Pidge’s. Hunk looked at him panicked and bit out through clenched teeth, almost desperately, “Lance! Pidge’s room is this way!”

Lance held up his hand and murmured, “I know. But what if Matt’s in on whatever this is too! We need to investigate!”

Lance pressed his ear up against the door, not daring to open it even a bit in case he was discovered. He had no ready excuse on why he would possibly be there after all.

What he heard was whispered words and soft moans and Lance stepped back quickly, too quickly. Tripping over Hunk and crashing to the floor with a loud thud. The noises from inside the room stopped and he heard Matt call out, “Pidge?”

Lance was so dead. He scrambled to his feet. What was he supposed to do? Maybe it was time to put his Pidge impersonation into action? “Yeessss Matt? Mr Wonderfully amazing brother whom I love dearly!”

The door opened immediately. Well that didn’t work, “Nice try Lance. But Pidge has a bit more sass than that, even to me. What are you doing here?”

Matt’s shirt was ruffled and there was a deep red-purple hickey forming fresh around his collarbone, but Lance wasn’t about to comment on it. He knew how uncool it was to interrupt a guy in these moments, “Uh… sorry Matt.”

Matt shook it off and gave him a friendly smile, “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I figure you’re here to plan Keith’s surprise party with Pidge or something right?

Lance shook his head then stopped, “No? What do you mean by that?”

Matt looked at him strangely, “I mean… Keith’s your boyfriend right? And his birthday’s in a weeks so I just thought you had something planned.

Lance gasped widely, “No! Now I need to plan that too!! But I was actually here searching for clues. Pidge and Keith have been sneaking around lately and I don’t know what that’s about!”

Hunk chuckled a bit nervously, clearly uncomfortable with everything in that moment, “It’s probably nothing. Let’s just focus on Keith’s party.”

Matt grins, “Actually, I was thinking that exact same thing! Got room for one more super sleuth on your side Lance!

Lance grinned widely, “Of course! The names Holmes! Sherlock Holmes.”

Matt smirked, “The name's Bond. Matt Bond.”

Lance smirked and Hunk was confused, “Shouldn’t it be James Bond?”

Matt shrugged, “Nah. I think Matt’s a better name!”

Lance looked at Matt and grinned, “So do you want to meet up later and um… finish with whoever’s in there first or just head out?”

Matt shrugged, “I still haven’t totally forgiven him yet so he can just come with us. Unless he wants to stay closeted and sulk in my bed instead of course.”

This was clearly a challenge to them. Whoever this person was to Matt they clearly had some history there that Lance wasn’t about to ask about. He was surprised when Shiro was the one who came out. He’d 100% pegged Shiro for being straight.

Shiro was smoothing down his shirt when he came out, smiling at them sheepishly, “I… Sure I’ll come. What are we doing?”

Lance grinned widely, now he had both big brothers on his side to figure out what the other two were up to! “Keith and Pidge have been sneaking around. And before you say anything, no, it’s not for homework. I asked each one individually and they said it was for two different school subjects meaning it was just a clever excuse to throw me off their trails! That’s why you’re all here men!” He turns this into a proper briefly, spy style, taking a moment to look each of them in the eye.

“Your mission, whether you choose to accept it, is to infiltrate the zones of the suspected parties and dig up as much suspicious information as possible!”

Matt is the first one to accept, “Agent 007 at your service!”

Shiro looks at them in this shielded way that makes it impossible to tell what he’s thinking before he crosses his arms and states, “Shouldn’t you just trust your boyfriend? I’m sure whatever they’re up to is harmless.”

Lance groans a bit, of course he would say that. _Thank god Matt’s here._

Matt chimed in, “Maybe. But if he’s planning something with my little sister it’s best for these boys to be prepared!” he stopped himself when he realized his mistake, blushed in embarrassment then corrected himself, “Little sibling.”

Lance was eternally grateful for Matt. If Shiro went off the deep end and told Keith, things could get very dramatic very fast. As it was Shiro seemed to be on a pretty tight leash. It left him wondering once again what had exactly happened between the two of them, but he figured that he’d just let it be for now. He couldn’t keep getting distracted.

Hunk chuckled nervously, “Well if you have it under control… maybe I should go?”

Lance gasped, “No! Hunk!”

Shiro nodded, “Okay well.. How about me and Hunk play distraction then? You guys can snoop around here and me and Hunk will make sure Keith and Pidge don’t leave my place.”

Lance grinned widely, “Sounds like a good plan! Text us if anything suspicious happens over there.”

Shiro nods seriously and solutes him like a true soldier, “Yes sir!”

Hunk mimics his actions clumsily, “Sure Lance. Sounds good buddy.”

The two boys watched their sidekicks go suspiciously. Lance to turns to Matt at the same time the other boy turned to face him. “They’re up to something aren't they?”

Matt just nodded, “definitely.”

Lance looked at the older Holt for guidance, “Should we follow them?”

Matt shook his head and smirked, “Not right away. I’m sure they’re half expecting up to follow and keeping their guard up. No. We don’t follow. We follow the original plan. Investigate things here and THEN we follow. We want to catch them in the act of whatever they’re doing. We’re just going to figure out what we can here, then we’ll follow their trail and figure out what they’re up to at the Shirogane household.”

Lance grinned widely, Pidge’s brother was an actual genius! “Thanks Matt!”

Matt smirks, “No problem! Now follow me young Sherlock!” He led Lance into his room, it looked like a typical geek room, Star Wars poster, countless books, that sort of thing. But the moment Matt pressed a button beside the TV, monitors and pieces of technology started being revealed from hidden compartments throughout the room. Lance stared in awe, “So… are you an actual spy?”

Matt smirked, “Maybe.”

Lance’s eyes grew wide. _Holy shit one of his best friend’s brother was a spy!!!_

Upon seeing this reaction Matt laughed a bit, “Kidding. I’m not. But I’ve always loved those old spy movies so I kind of stylized my tech after it. Pidge keeps their tech out in the open, I’m more discreet about mine.”

Lance sits down on the beds, “Uh… okay cool. So what are we doing here then?”

Matt smirked, “tapping into the security camera in Pidge’s room.”

Lance looked at him skeptically, “Isn’t that an invasion of privacy? Setting up a security camera in your siblings room?”

Matt shrugged, “they did it not me. They also figured that hacking into it would be impossible, but nothing is quite impossible for Matt Bond!” He adjusts his glasses in what is probably intended to be a cool way but it just comes across impossibly dorky.

Lance grins, “Yeah, though I’m sure they never expected you to hack into it since you are the perfect big brother.”

Matt chuckled a bit, “Nobody's perfect my dear Sherlock. And I am a Holt after all, we have a devilish side to us and devilish good looks! Comes with the name.”

Lance chuckles a bit, “Whatever you say Bond. So… Shiro? What’s the story there?”

Matt chuckles a bit, “One thing at a time Lance. Let’s figure out this Kidge thing before moving onto Shatt.”

“Kidge? Shatt?” Lance gasped loudly, “Matt Bond! Are you making shipping names!”

Matt smirked, “Maybe. My OTP right now is definitely Klance though. You guys are way too cute and I get the full details from Pidge.”

Lance blushes, “Klance?” He thinks for a moment about it, it rolls off the tongue nicely, “I kind of like it. And Shatt’s a pretty good ship too.”

Matt sighs wistfully, “Don’t tell Shiro… but I kind of like it too. But a lot of things happened yet so that ship’s still up in the air on whether it’ll sail or not.”

Lance put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed a bit comfortingly, “It’ll definitely sail! I can tell by the looks in your eyes and the beating of your heart!”

Matt couldn’t help but smile and chuckle a bit, “How can you judge the beating of our hearts from an outsider's perspective?”

Lance rolls his eyes and grins, “It’s an expression and I’m a relationship expert!”

Matt chuckles a bit, “I’ll believe that when I see you last in a relationship for more than a couple months.”

Lance crossed his arms, “It’s not my fault those girls couldn’t handle me! I’m with someone a lot better now anyways! Keith is special so… you’ll definitely see the relationship expert at work.” He sighs a bit wistfully, his mind drifting to the most incredible boyfriend a guy could ask for.

Matt chuckles a bit and waves his hand in front of Lance’s face, “Earth to Lance!”

Lance blushes a bit and clears his throat awkwardly, “Oh um… yeah! Anyways, when you and Shiro are properly together we should definitely go on a double date!”

Matt nods, “Oh yeah! Definitely!” He brings up a log of the video recordings in Pidges room for the day, “So… why today? What made Pidge especially suspicious today?”

Lance switches the topics in his mind again, focusing solely on Pidge. “They had these boxes of stuff in their hand on the way to Keith’s house. They said they were old video games.”

Matt nods, “Very suspicious. Their old game collection would never leave the house. Let’s see if I can find a video of them with the box in their room.”

Matt sifts through the video, Lance following along with his eyes until Lance stops him, “There! That’s the box!”

Matt nods and they watch Pidge bring it into their room in the morning, open it up, and bring out an assortment of merchandise from the boxes. “Hey. Matt. Can you zoom in on those?”

Sure enough, they were all voltron merch. Voltron OFFICIAL merch that you could only pre-order right now. What was this? What was going on!?!”

Lance locked eyes with Matt, “We need to get to the bottom of this.”

Matt nodded and smirked, “Wanna check their room for more clues?”

He looked at him quizzically, “Don’t they lock their door whenever they’re not in the house?”

Matt chuckled a bit, “I just hacked their security camera, hacking their door code is cake. I’m at a great college for computer science after all, so allow Mr.Bond to work his magic!”

Lance grinned widely and watched as Matt got to work, easily breaking into Pidge’s room and the two of them spread out, “Hey so… Matt. You know that external drive Pidge stores all those embarrassing pictures and stuff on.”

Matt chuckles a bit, “Yeah. I know of it but not where it is. If I was able to track that down, believe me, I would have destroyed it a _long_ time ago.

Lance sighs, “Worth a shot.”

While looking around they try and keep things impersonal. They’re spies not snoops. Lance would only do something as awful as reading someone’s personal diary if someone’s life was at stake. He had lines… though apparently the lines didn’t stop him from breaking into someone’s room to snoop through most of their possessions. With the permission of their brother of course!

Eventually he gave up looking through the drawers and just scanned the room again, trying to figure out what he should be looking for. There had to be something here!

_And boy was there definitely something._

Beside their bed, in a standard picture frame, was a Voltron print of Green and their lion signed by the author! That was their signature! ‘KK’ looking the exact same as it did on the holiday special watercolour Voltron pictures. Except this was signed in a silver marker.

_It all made sense._

“Matt!” He picked up the frame and showed it to Matt, “Look! This was signed by the creator of Voltron!”

Matt’s eyes went wide, “You don’t think?”

Lance nodded, “Yeah. I do.”

Matt stared in awe, “I can hardly believe it.”

Lance nodded, “Me too. My own friend.”

“My own sibling”

“Hiding from us that they’re working with the creator of Voltron.”

Matt looked at him, eyes wide, “You don’t think that’s why they’ve been spending all that time with Keith do you?”

Lance furrowed his eyebrows, “Keith would never keep anything about Voltron from me. He knows how important it is to me.”

Matt rests a hand on his shoulder, “But if the creator of Voltron swore you to secrecy you’d probably keep it a secret as well.”

Lance sighs. That was true. He’d respect the creators wishes, “Fine. That’s true. But we know now so if we tell them, maybe we can get a job with the creator as well! Hell, if it meant interacting with the creator in any way shape or form I’d do any sort of work for free!”

Matt nods, “I wouldn’t mind working in exchange for an autograph or something? The webcomic is pretty incredible!”

Lance grinned, “Then I guess it’s time to tell them that the jig is up! This super spy-detective duo has solved the mystery!”

Matt nodded and held out his fist to Lance which he happily bumped. They should work together more often.

They walked towards Keith’s house which was right around the corner from the Holt’s, deciding that they were beyond sending out a warning text to their boyfriends.

They walked up to the door and Mrs.Shirogane let them in immediately as soon as they saw Lance, saying that everyone else was upstairs already.

Lance smiled warmly and thanked her before heading upstairs and pressing his ear against the door, Matt right beside him.

“Do you think he knows?” That was… Pidge’s voice?

“I don’t think so. I think he’s just a little suspicious.” That was definitely Shiro!

“H-Hey Guys. Keith. Maybe you should just tell him?” There was Hunk. _Such a nice guy because Hunk was clearly referring to telling yours truly. Definitely the best bro that always has your back._

It was Keith’s voice that was next, “No. we really can’t tell him.”

That hurt a little bit, coming from his boyfriend, but he decided to take this opportunity to make his grand entrance. He opened the door and looked at them all victoriously, “Too late! I already know!”

Keith stared in shock, no one was trying to cover the mass amounts of sample Voltron merchandise because the jig was already up.

Keith took a tentative step towards him, “I um… please don’t treat me differently Lance! Please don’t hate me for not telling you!” There was a look akin to fear and nervousness in his eyes that Lance didn’t quite understand.

_Why would he treat him differently?_

He vocalized his thoughts, “Why would I treat you differently?”

Keith started, “Because..”

But Shiro cut him off, “Let him finish Keith.”

Lance grinned, “Thank you Shiro! As I was saying, why would I treat you differently? You were just doing what the creator asked. Keeping this all hush hush. All I was gonna say was, now that I know, can I please work for the creator too!? I will seriously do anything! Like… I’m pretty decent with math… though I guess you have Pidge here for accounting or something. But I can be an errand boy? I can travel between here and the post office to ship out merchandise and stuff!!!”

Keith lets out an audible sigh of relief and the others break into soft laughter.

Pidge grins, clearly hiding something behind their smile, “I’m sure the creator wouldn’t mind the extra help.”

Keith seemed to recover a bit and smiled nervously at Lance, “I’m sure they’d even pay you for your time.”

Lance grinned excitedly, “With an autograph??”

Keith chuckled a bit, “That too I guess? But I was talking about cash.”

Lance smirked, he’d be making money by helping out his favourite author? Score!!! “I’m honestly so excited now! And now you two!” He pointed to Pidge and Keith, “Don’t have to sneak around behind my back anymore!”

Keith and Pidge exchanged a look before smiling at him. Keith walking towards him and kissed him gently, murmuring just loud enough for him to hear, “You weren’t worried about us, were you?”

In truth… he had been. He was trying his best not to think about them sneaking around behind his back and stuff but… he was worried. Worried that Keith was already bored of him, or decided that he didn’t want to be with him anymore. That he decided that the whole gay thing wasn’t working for him. He was so worried. They’d only been dating for a little over a month but that was plenty of time for Keith to decide that Lance wasn’t good enough for him.

With Lance’s lack of response, Keith continued, “You have nothing to worry about Lance. I’m not gonna leave you.”

Keith leaned up and kissed him gently His eyes fluttering closed as he wrapped his arms around Keith, pulling him closer.

Pidge made a gagging noise, “Get a room you two!”

To which Keith pulled away to respond snarkily, “This is my room Pidge!!”

Lance chuckled a bit and smiled down at his boyfriend, “You should probably get back to work anyways, and I’ll help! Maybe if we get done this work early the two of us can sneak in a coffee date?”

Keith chuckled a bit and smiled up at him endearingly, “Last time you had coffee in the evening you stayed up all night. I don’t exactly feel like being woken up by texts at 3am again.”

Lance pouted a bit before Keith added, “But maybe we could go for some hot chocolate? My treat?”

Lance perked up and kissed his cheek, “Awesome! Sounds good! Let’s get to work then!”

Keith rolled his eyes and Lance eagerly waited for instructions on what he could do to help the creator of Voltron!

He loved the idea of working for the creator, but he was even more excited about the fact that he’d get more time with Keith now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked this chapter! I figured it was about time to do another Lance chapter to kind of give his perspective on what's been going on and cut some of the foreboding ansgt... seriously. I hate angst so it's important to nip it in the butt! and I've been itching to find a way to include Lance/Matt interactions so I really felt like this was my chance! I just love how their character dynamics would work together! They're so similar!
> 
> There is only an 70% chance that i'll update next week? I'm going on vacation over Christmas so I don't know if I'll be able to get the chapter done. But I swear I'll try! Even if it's a shorter one!!


	14. Chapter 14

Keith smiled over at Lance as he watched him label all the boxes to be shipped out. Honestly, Lance was very organized with all this. He was glad for the help or else he wouldn’t be on track to ship everything out on time.

They had ended up going with a local company to make all the T-shirts for the shop, and another company for the mini prints. It probably made more sense to go off Rebbubble or some other website but this was cheaper and Keith really did like supporting local companies. That being said, he had no idea he’d get this many pre-orders and was glad for the extra set of hands. There were literally thousands of orders; he was once again reminded of his huge following and it all kind of made him nervous.

Regardless, he needed the money. His birthday was coming up in a couple of days and he insisted on paying the Shiroganes rent afterwards.

“Hey! So I’m thinking we finish up the shipments to Europe since there’s less of them, but it’d free up space in Keith’s room? What do you think Pidge?” Lance chimed in. He was a silent worker for the most part, which was surprising to say the least.

Pidge nodded, “Yeah that works! You’re the shipping expert Lance! Trust your instincts!”

That was another thing that was sort of weird. To throw Lance off his trail they had it so Pidge was ‘in charge’ of all this. They simply said they were the only one in communication with the creator since they ran the website, and Lance bought it so that was at least good.

Lance nods, “Okay, I’ll finish up here and maybe get the first bit of pre-orders shipped out tonight.”

Pidge grinned, “And I’ll put on the website that European pre-orders have been shipped!”

They seemed like a good team. Lance had a lot of experience since he shipped out his own cosplay prints all the time and Pidge seemed to have a lot of experience everywhere. Keith just felt like he was getting in the way and honestly, he shouldn’t even be here. He should be sneaking off to the corner of the house to get his next update done but something about this kept him here.

Namely Lance. Lance was so happy just to be included, just to be working with them. He really hated lying to him like this. Half of him thought he should just get it over with and tell him, the other half of him knew that was a bad idea.

Lance was now constantly raving about how incredible the creator was and how much he idolized them, even more than before. Keith finally had something stable in his life. Someone he loved. He didn’t want that dynamic to change just because he wrote a webcomic.

_Love._

It was a scary word but Keith had learned to accept it because yes, he was in fact in love with Lance McClain. He never thought he would reach this point. A point where he was making money off of something he loved doing and dating someone whom he loved being with, but he was. Here he was, at a point he never dreamt he’d be at.

He looked over at Lance and smiled when he found Lance was staring back at him. Lance winked and he found himself blushing.

He never wanted things to change.

They finished up packaging the European shipment and Keith kissed Lance gently as he said his goodbye, helping Lance load his mom's car with the packages then watched him drive away. His heart pounded deep in his chest. He heard Pidge’s voice behind him, “You really should tell him.”

He groaned. This response was inevitable, “I know okay? I just… can’t.”

He turned around and Pidge looked at him sternly, crossing their arms, “He’ll find out eventually, it’s only a matter of time. It’s one thing if it’s just the comic, but can you really keep a movie deal from him?”

Keith shrugged, “It’s only been a few weeks. I have time to figure it out.”

Pidge shook their head, “They have a base storyline and plot lined up. They want to fly you out to flesh out some of the details. You wouldn’t be able to keep that from him!”

Keith shrugged non-committedly, “I mean. I have school. I can’t exactly miss it.”

Pidge groaned, “It’s only a week dumbass, and I can fill you in with notes for 2 of your classes. This is the opportunity of a lifetime! No way can you miss out on it just because you don’t want Lance finding out! You have to tell him!”

Keith sighed, “I will… in time.” He knew they’re right. This was important. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, one he had never dreamt of but now never stopped dreaming of but he just couldn’t bring himself to tell Lance. “Do you think they’d be willing to flesh it out over Skype?”

Pidge groaned, “You’re ridiculous! Fine. New plan. I checked and there’s a four-day con in Florida coming up soon. It’s decently big so why don’t you just say you’re going there with Shiro as a sort of road trip? I’m sure four days will be plenty for Universal Studios if they really want you.”

Keith nodded that could work. He grinned at Pidge, “I knew I kept you around for something!”

Pidge rolled their eyes, “You kept me around because you’re an idiot and wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything without me.”

Keith shrugged, “I don’t know about the idiot part but yeah, basically.” Seriously, what would he do without them?

Pidge smirked, “Keefers, do you really want me to get started on the list of idiotic things you’ve done since I met you.”

Keith thought for a moment. He couldn’t imagine the list would actually be that long but… knowing Pidge it had the potential to be. “I’ll pass.”

Pidge smirked, “Thought so. Also, while we’re on that topic, they’re sending someone down to just meet you and review a possible contract with you”

Keith felt his eyes widen, “What?? And you didn’t tell me earlier because?”

Pidge shrugged, “Lance was here. He’s always here now and you’re the one who wants to keep this a secret from him.”

Keith groaned that was true.

“Anyways, now that Lance is done you should probably get to making your latest update.” They added.

He knew they were right but he also had school work to do, “I also have to finish that math worksheet.”

Pidge waved him off, “You already know the material. It’s just a pointless assignment that has no intellectual value but takes an annoyingly long time. I’ll finish it for you. Lance time has really cut into your Webcomic time.”

_Thank god for Pidge_ , he nodded, “Thanks, Pidge. See you later.” He left them to go upstairs and start immediate work on the next update for his webcomic. He really needed to get this done.

#

Lance waited at Pidge’s house for them. What was taking them so long? They said they’d only be a minute and Lance had already had enough time to ship everything out at the post office and drive back to Pidge’s place. _Why weren’t they here yet?_

He grinned upon seeing them _finally_ arrive and waved, “Hey!”

Pidge gave him a small wave back, “Hey Lance.”

They both waited for a moment in silence then opened their mouth at the same time to speak.

“So about Keith—“ Lance started at the same time as Pidge said.

“So I was thinking—“

They both laughed a bit, “You go”, Lance said casually and Pidge didn’t hesitate to continue.

“I was thinking for Keith’s birthday we should do something big!”

Lance shook his head, “Honestly… I really want to! You know me, go big or go home but… This is Keith’s party. I know he really doesn’t like anything big or flashy. I want to do something he’ll actually enjoy, not just something he’ll grin and bare.”

Pidge nodded a bit and smiled, placing one hand on his shoulder and wiping a fake tear from their eye with the other one, “They grow up so fast. I’m so proud of you Lance.”

Lance looks at them confused, “What?”

“I’m proud of you for actually thinking about someone other than yourself!”

Lance huffed indignantly, crossing his arms, “What’s that supposed to mean! I’m a very considerate person! I always think of other people!”

Pidge chuckled a bit then responded sarcastically, “Sure you do.”

Lance gasped and whined, “Meeaaaannnnn”

Pidge responded immediately, mimicking his whiny voice, “Truuuuuuuuuth”

Lance sighed exasperatedly, there was no point in continuing this conversation. He had a clear objective and he wasn’t about to be distracted from it, “Whatever. Point being, this party has to be perfect for him! Hunk and Shiro are already inside waiting for us! Honestly, I have the most incredible idea for his birthday! He’s gonna love it! It’ll be sort of simple and perfect!”

Pidge rolled their eyes, “It better be something you can execute in two days.”

Lance nodded, “Way ahead of you! I’ve already taken steps to accomplishing my plan! Inviting you here was more of a formality.” Because Lance really did have the perfect idea for Keith’s birthday.

Pidge rolled their eyes, “More like you need access to my technical expertise.”

Lance smirked, “Exactly!”

#

Keith finished the update then sat there for a moment. They had rushed to get orders done two days ago and since then he’d been rushing to get the update done and ready to post. He finally had a spare moment to himself.

He’d promised to spend time with Lance later for Halloween prep. Lance had apparently sewn him the perfect costume and he needed to make sure it fit, so right now was the only time he had to himself. Not that he was complaining. He was used to a lot of downtime.

He sighed, it was probably time to put some proper research into a subject that’d he’d been putting off, namely the whole ace thing. He started googling it. It sort of came across differently for different people apparently. Initially, Keith had thought there was no way he was ace. He enjoyed making out with Lance after all but… when it came down to it, even Lance feeling up under his shirt made him extremely uncomfortable.

The more he looked into it the more he worried because, yeah, he might very well be ace, and that scared him. He knew Lance had said that sex wasn’t necessary for a relationship but he also knew Lance was most definitely not ace. Lance probably expected sex, if not now, definitely in the future… and Keith didn’t want to disappoint him.

But more than anything he was scared that Lance would break up with him if he told him.

He felt defective. He took his laptop and sat on his bed, bringing up porn hub on the display and turning on the first video he could find. He watched and all it did was disturb him.

_What was the appeal in this?_

He tried something else, figuring maybe physical touch would help. He tried to picture Lance, a much more appealing thought than the sight of two nameless people going at it. He started stroking himself in the way that he’d seen described in countless fan fiction before, figuring there was a set way to go about this but… he just sort of felt weird about this. It didn’t feel good it just felt… weird.

He sighed and took his hand out of his pants and went to the washroom to wash them. He… should probably tell Lance. He couldn’t tell Lance about him being the author of Voltron, but he could tell him about this… even though it’d be hard but he figured he owed it to Lance. He didn’t want to keep anything from his boyfriend that wasn’t necessary.

He heard the doorbell ring and rushed downstairs, flinging it open and smiling upon seeing Lance, even though it felt like there was a rock in the pit of his stomach but Lance was so beautiful, and he was standing there smiling and holding flowers out to him.

“Morning sunshine,” Lance said immediately, leaning in and giving him a quick peck on the lips.

Keith chuckled a bit, “It’s not morning.”

Lance rolled his eyes, “Well fine. If you want to get technical about it. See. These are for you.”

Keith smiled and took the flowers - roses, Lance is beyond a cheesy romantic. God with Lance around he might actually get smile lines. “Thanks.”

He went to get a vase to put the flowers in and Lance came in but doesn’t take off his shoes. He returned quickly, “So what’s the occasion?”

Lance shrugged, “Do I need a reason to buy my boyfriend flowers?”

Keith crossed his arms, “Technically no but with you, there’s normally a reason. What did you mess up this time?”

Lance held a hand over his heart and gasped melodramatically, “Keith! You wound me! I didn’t do anything wrong besides apparently being an amazing boyfriend, which I didn’t think was actually a bad thing to be!”

Keith raised his eyebrow skeptically, “Um… sure. So I guess we’re going to your house right? Costume fitting?”

Lance nodded eagerly and takes his hand, “Yup!” Then led him to the car, “I borrowed my parent's car again” he supplied before opening the passenger door for him like a gentleman.

Keith smiled and got in, “One of these days I’ll buy a motorcycle and then you’ll never have to borrow this car again.”

Lance chuckled a bit, “Except in the winter.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “Except in the winter.”

Lance smiled a bit, “But that would be seriously hot. Then I could be your biker babe.”

Keith looked at him skeptically as he pulled out, “Is that even a thing?”

Lance grinned confidently, “Most definitely!”

Keith found himself laughing a bit, “Then yes. You’ll be my biker babe.”

“Excellent.”

They made their way to Lance’s house. His boyfriend turned on Beyonce and Keith couldn’t help but laugh at how awful his taste in music was, which Lance pretended to be offended by, but his smile said otherwise.

They reached his house and Keith immediately knew what was going on. He internally groaned. Why hadn’t he figured this out sooner? Then it could be avoided. He realized he was getting a surprise party the moment he saw Shiro’s car down the street. Now he just had to hope Lance didn’t go overboard on the invites. He really didn’t want to deal with his obnoxious classmates on a Saturday.

They got out of the house and Lance led him inside and up to his room. So far no party. _Huh_ … Keith was genuinely surprised because he swore he saw Shiro’s car down the street.

Lance pulled out a Spiderman costume and, okay, that’s actually pretty cool. “You sewed this?”

Lance grinned, “Yup! And I made Deadpool for myself!”

Yeah. His boyfriend was really impressive. Lance shoved the cosplay into his hands and Keith figured he should change, “I’ll change in the bathroom.”

He quickly got changed and the spandex hugged his body perfectly. _Wow_. Lance went through a lot of effort for him, even including a prefabricated cup in the crotch so it didn’t show too much. He walked out and saw Lance in his unitard as well, grinning like mad as he checked Keith out. Keith blushed self-consciously. “Um… so it fits?”

Lance nodded and Keith blushed a deeper shade of red because these outfits didn’t exactly leave anything to the imagination. “So… since it fits can I go change now?”

Lance just grabbed his hand and shook his head, “Not yet.” He dragged Keith downstairs and _here we go_. Surprise party… costume party?

Keith actually didn’t hate costume parties. He pulled his hand away from Lance briefly so he could put his mask on then took Lance’s hand again. This way felt a lot safer.

Lance led him downstairs and as if on cue everyone shouted, “Happy Birthday!!” Everyone being Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, Matt, and some other girl he didn’t know. She seemed to be about the same age as Shiro though, white hair, blue eyes, beautiful.

Shiro dressed in his Black Paladin cosplay, Hunk did Winnie the Pooh, Matt dressed as Rick from Rick and Morty, the girl dressed as Princess Peach, and Pidge had the ultimate costume, that being Rocket Raccoon.

Keith was happy for the mask. His friends, along with the massive amounts of Halloween themed decorations, made him go wide-eyed and an embarrassingly wide smile bursted out on his face. “Thanks, guys. This uh… this means a lot.” It was his first real birthday party since his parents died.

Pidge grinned, “Glad you liked it! But the party hasn’t even begun!”

Keith chuckled a bit, “I’m guessing Lance wanted something more flashy?”

Pidge shook their head, “Actually this whole thing was his idea… well for the most part. Shiro planned it too and we all helped out with throwing it together!”

Lance squeezed his hand and smiled a bit, “I knew you wouldn’t want something flashy and your birthday should be all about you.” Lance pulled up Keith’s mask a bit just so his mouth was exposed then kissed him gently, “Happy Birthday babe.”

_God._ Keith loved Lance so much. He’d done this for him. They all had. He felt like crying because he knew they all cared for him so much.

For the rest of the evening they played games, ate cake, and Pidge had set up karaoke for them all. All in all, it was a perfect evening but he was honestly really curious about who the white-haired girl was. He walked over to her curiously, “Hey.”

The girl’s face lit up and she smiled at him brightly, “Hi! Happy Birthday, Keith!” She said in a thick British accent. It’s definitely soothing.

He looked at her curiously, “Uh… thanks. Who are you?”

The girl flushed in embarrassment, “Oh I’m sorry. I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Allura. I’m an old friend of Shiro and Matt.”

Keith nodded, “I um… okay cool. So… why are you here?” He wasn’t exactly trying to be rude but he was genuinely curious and kind of awkward about his wording.

Regardless, she didn’t seem to take offence, “Shiro wanted me to meet you while I’m in town. I work for Universal Studios so I’m just in town briefly to talk to a prospective client. Exciting isn’t it?”

Keith’s eyes went wide. He knew exactly who that client was, “Um… yeah. Exciting.” He wasn’t able to fully let it sink in before Lance came up beside him.

Lance grinned at Allura, “Sorry to pull Keith away from such a beautiful goddess, but it’s my turn to sing and I need my singing partner!” Lance dragged him away and he momentarily forgot about the white-haired Universal Studio rep, in favour of singing whatever High School Musical song Lance had cued up for them.

Overall it was a fun night, they turned it into a sleepover and he found himself curled up against Lance’s side again that night but he didn’t sleep. The image of that white-haired girl and her movie promise was haunting his vision. Everything was becoming too real. The possibility of a Voltron movie was becoming too real. He was used to writing his fantasies, so he had no clue how he was supposed to live them.

Honestly, right now all he wanted to do was tell Lance and get his opinion on everything that was happening. Though Lance was probably all for the movie deal, Keith himself wasn’t so sure. In movies, they tended to change a lot of things about the books or in this case, webcomic. He wasn’t sure he wanted to allow for that possibility.

There were so many things he wanted to tell Lance right now… but it wasn’t the time for any of them. So he tried to sleep his worries away and eventually fell into a restless slumber, wrapped up in Lance’s embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating last week. I've been super busy and I think my updating schedule is going to be a lot different from now on. I haven't really been enjoying writing this at all for the last several chapters because I've felt a lot of pressure to just force myself to write so I can get chapters done quickly so I can post every Friday. I also have other obligations like my cosplay YouTube channel (Cross Connect cosplay) and making content for that. As such is the case I'll only be posting new chapters every 2 weeks instead of every week.
> 
> Thanks for your understanding! That being said, I really hope you liked this chapter and I really do look forward to writing future chapters for this fic! thanks for reading! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, and special thanks to those who leave kudos and comments! They mean the world to me!!
> 
> Special thanks to my amazing Beta reader Luna, from Luna_Vulpes! Go check out their archive page because their fanfictions are what inspired me to finally start writing my own Klance stories! They're incredible!!!


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